Molotov Cocktails Thrown At Greek Olympics-related Buildings

ATHENS, July 22 (AFP) - Security arrangements for the Olympic Games in Athens came again to the fore Thursday after three Molotov cocktails were hurled at official buildings under police guard.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the arson attack, but Greek police sources speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity attributed to it to far-left circles.
"It doesn't cause any particular worries for the Games' security," the source said, explaining that it fell within the expected framework of reactions on the part of that movement.
The devices were thrown early Thursday at the Greek culture ministry, in charge of preparing next month's Olympic Games, and the nearby "Cultural Olympiad" offices in downtown Athens, causing slight damage, police said.
The two buildings, which are under police guard, are situated behind the Greek national archaeological museum in the traditionally anti-establishment student quarter of Exarchia.
Two of the glass bottles filled with inflammable liquid were hurled against the culture ministry around 4 am (0100 GMT), caught fire and blackened a wall. The other failed to catch fire but smashed the window it was thrown at. No other damage was reported.
The "Cultural Olympiad" is the public body organizing cultural shows on the sidelines of the Olympic Games, due to be held August 13-29.
The attacks came as a debate raged around reports that armed foreign guards had been given the go-ahead to protect their countries' athletes at the games.
An informed source told AFP on Wednesday that Greece had agreed to allow the US, Britain and Israel to send armed guards to protect their athletes.
The New York Times had already reported that Greece had given in to pressure to allow 400 US Special Forces soldiers and US, Israeli and British security officers to be armed at the Games.
The left and Greek media have also protested in recent days against what they called "Big Brother" style surveillance of the city for the games by a camera-carrying balloon backing up some 1,000 security cameras on the ground.
Since the Olympics security measures have been put in place this kind of attack, frequent in Athens for years and normally blamed on far-left groups, has become rarer.
On May 5 three small bombs were thrown at an Athens police station causing slight damage. The attack was claimed by the Greek group "Revolutionary Struggle."
Two weeks later, on May 19 the Greek police dismantled a home-made explosive device left under a car parked in front of a dealer for the British Rover company in a suburb of the capital. This abortive attack was claimed by another group, "Revolutionary Popular Action."
Police have said these groups did not have links with international terrorism and did not threaten the Games.
The Greek government expects to spend around 1.2 billion euros (1.5 billion dollars) on the security of the August 13-29 Games -- the first summer Olympics to be held since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
But, according to an opinion poll published Monday, almost three-quarters of Greeks are not worried at the likelihood of an extremist attack on the Athens Olympics.