ATHENS — A newly emerged militant group called "Revolutionary Class Self-Defense" has claimed responsibility for two recent bombing incidents in Athens, including an explosion on Friday outside the offices of Hellenic Train.

The Friday evening blast caused minor damage but no injuries, following a warning call made to two media outlets approximately 40 minutes beforehand.

The extremist group also said it was behind another explosive device that went off near the Labor Ministry building in the Greek capital in early February.

In a lengthy statement posted online Sunday and seen by Euronews, the group said the attacks were part of an armed opposition against the state, dedicating them to “the Palestinian people and their heroic resistance”.

The left-leaning organization also referenced a man killed last year while assembling an explosive device in an Athens apartment.

The group linked its actions to widespread anger over Greece’s deadliest rail disaster, which occurred in 2023 when a freight train and a passenger train were accidentally directed onto the same track near Tempi, killing 57 people and injuring dozens more.

The tragedy exposed serious safety flaws in Greece’s rail infrastructure and has sparked ongoing protests, particularly by families of the victims.

“With the blood not yet dry, they attributed the accident to human error and the ‘chronic deficiencies of the Greek state,’" the group wrote, accusing the government of using the tragedy to justify further privatization and deregulation.

Greek authorities are actively investigating the attacks, with surveillance footage and mobile phone data under review.

They noted the re-emergence of homegrown extremist groups, which have carried out low-scale bombings since the 1970s, causing damage but rarely any injuries.

While older networks have been dismantled, newer factions have surfaced in recent years, representing what officials describe as a new generation of domestic extremists.

Hellenic Train, which now operates as a subsidiary of Italy’s Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane following its sale in 2017, was previously part of Greece’s state-owned railway system.

While the train service has been privatized, Hellenic Railways remains in charge of maintaining the railway infrastructure, including tracks and stations.

In its statement, the Revolutionary Class Self-Defence has blamed the Italian company for the Tempi accident without providing any proof of its claims. — Euronews