Forensic experts search for evidence on a street where a car bomb went off in Athens April 10, 2014.(Reuter / Alkis Konstantinidis)

 

The explosion came as the country prepares to enter the international bond market for the first time in four years, since the debt crisis in 2010, and a day before German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to the Greek capital. A car explosive has detonated outside a Bank of Greece building in central Athens. The blast smashed windows in shops, but left no injuries.

The warning about the car bomb came with an anonymous call 45 minutes before the blast. The caller said that the bomb contained 70kg of explosives, a police official told Reuters.

No one immediately claimed responsibility, but security forces believe it could be leftist or anarchist groups.

Makeshift bomb and arson attacks have hiked dramatically since Greece implemented unpopular austerity measures in exchange for multibillion euro bailouts by the EU and IMF four years ago.