A letter bomb exploded today at the International Monetary Fund French office. This happened in spite of the heightened security all over Europe after a series of recent deadly attacks.
The secretary who opened the letter was slightly injured by shrapnel in the face and hurt in the eardrum from the violent noise of the explosion. The incident happened just a day after a Greek rebel group sent a letter bomb to the German finance ministry on Wednesday. The bomb there did not explode.
Staff of the IMF were immediately evacuated following the explosion. Military and police officers were also seen guarding the wealthy district of western Paris.
The explosive was described as a homemade big firecracker. It was sent by regular mail.
The police has yet to identify who sent the letter.
The IMF office has been receiving threat phone calls the past days. Police will not say, however, if there's a link between those calls and today's letter bomb explosion.
IMF Christine Lagarde, who is French, condemned the incident and called it a cowardly act.
France remains in a state of emergency after 235 people were killed in Islamic extremist attacks in the past two years. French President Francois Hollande did not hesitate in calling the letter bomb explosion as an attack.
The Greek group Conspiracy Cells of Fire claimed responsibility for the attack through an online posting. The move was part of a united campaign by international anarchist groups.
Many Greeks are also angry with the IMF and the EU for forcing austerity measures connected to Greece's bailout program.
Source:
http://metro.co.uk/2017/03/16/letter-bomb-explodes-at-imf-headquarters-in-paris-6513043/
