Posted on 08/03/2002 1:34:29 PM PDT by knighthawk
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A cache of weapons, including automatic rifles, were stolen from a Greek military armory after thieves tunneled through a wall, officials said Saturday.
Suspicion immediately fell on the embattled terrorist group November 17, but authorities also left open the possibility it was a heist by ordinary criminals.
The theft on the island of Kos was discovered late Friday, but could have occurred anytime in the past 10 days, military authorities announced.
It was not immediately clear whether the weapons were supposed to be under guard or in an unmonitored army storehouse on the island, near the Turkish coast about 180 miles southeast of Athens.
The stolen weapons included 15 .45-caliber pistols and several automatic rifles, state media reported. A hole was dug through a wall from an adjacent storeroom holding tents and the alarm was not triggered, the report said.
``This shows the robbers knew the base very well,'' state television said.
The investigation immediately turned to Greece's most notorious terrorist group, which has come under major police crackdown after operating for 27 years without suffering a single arrest.
November 17 is linked to 23 killings and many attacks and robberies, including thefts of arms and equipment from police stations and military facilities.
Police have taken 15 suspected members of November 17 into custody since a botched bombing injured one alleged operative. But authorities say some key suspects remain at large, including a man accused of being a top hit man.
The group professes a mix of hard-line Marxism and nationalism, but apparently has no clear political objective. It takes its name from the day in 1973 when tanks and troops crushed student-led protests against the 1967-74 military junta.
It first emerged in 1975 with the ambush killing of the CIA station chief in Athens. Its other foreign victims include three other Americans, two Turkish diplomats and in its most recent strike: the June 2000 slaying of British defense attache Brig. Stephen Saunders.
On Wednesday, a proclamation attributed to the group claimed it was ``still alive'' and could take hostages if it considers the trial of suspects unfair.
Anti-Greek establishment, anti-US, anti-Turkey, anti-NATO, and committed to the ouster of US bases, removal of Turkish military presence from Cyprus, and severing of Greece's ties to NATO and the European Union (EU).
This is from the Terrorist Group Profiles From the US Dept. of State.
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