Greek youths clash with police

Greek police clashed with groups of stone-throwing protesters in the centre of Athens late yesterday following the arrest of four youths suspected of taking part in a number of bomb attacks.

Gas canister and bomb attacks by leftist and anarchist groups have rocked Greece since the police shooting of a teenager sparked the country's worst riots in decades in December. Greeks go to vote in snap polls on October 4.

"About 150 anarchists threw stones and other objects at two policemen near a police station in the centre of Athens. Police responded with tear gas," said a police official who declined to be named. "No arrests, injuries or major damages were reported."

The protesters set fire to garbage containers in the streets of the Exarchia neighbourhood. Dozens of locals looked on calmly while a few hurried to get their cars out of the way.

Police arrested the four young Greeks in raids following the explosion on Wednesday of a bomb which caused only minor damage outside the home of an opposition socialist member. The four are suspected of belonging to the small leftist guerilla group Fire Conspiracy Cells, a police official said.

A stomping ground of artists and anarchists, Exarchia was thrust into the spotlight last December after police shot dead a 15-year-old boy there.