Summary:
In the early hours of 1 July 2026, three coordinated incendiary attacks using crude gas-canister devices struck residential buildings in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city and a major northern port in the Macedonia region. The attacks targeted homes linked to figures from New Democracy, Greece’s centre-right ruling party led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. One attack proved fatal when fire spread to vehicles parked beneath a building, killing 72-year-old Vagia Nestora and injuring four others. On 10 July, Greece’s Counter-Terrorism Unit arrested three individuals with prior documented links to local anarchist networks in connection with the deadly incident. Greek authorities have described the attacks as terrorism and pledged to pursue all those responsible, while the investigation continues into possible additional perpetrators and wider connections.
Detailed Report
1. Coordinated Attacks Target Homes of Greece’s Ruling Party
Three attacks occurred within a 17-minute window between 04:18 and 04:35 on 1 July 2026 across different districts of Thessaloniki. The devices were low-technology incendiary bombs constructed from camping gas canisters combined with flammable liquid. Police believe the perpetrators moved between locations on motorcycles or a scooter.
The first device was placed at 04:18 outside a residential building complex at 64B Christoforou Perraivou Street in the Pylaia district. The building is owned by Zisis Ioakimovic, President of the New Democracy Thessaloniki Administrative Committee. It caused no significant damage or injuries. Five minutes later, at 04:24, a second device was ignited at the entrance of an apartment building at 45 Tsiapanou Street in the Toumba district, where former New Democracy MP Savvas Anastasiadis resides. This attack caused limited material damage but no injuries.
The most destructive incident occurred at 04:35 in the Harilaou district. The device was positioned near or under vehicles in the ground-floor parking area of a building linked to New Democracy parliamentary candidate Afroditi Nestora. Flames spread rapidly to multiple vehicles, triggering secondary explosions from fuel and sending intense smoke and fire into the residential building above.
2. One Killed and Four Injured in Deadliest Attack
The Harilaou attack produced all the casualties. Vagia Nestora, 72, mother of Afroditi Nestora, sustained severe burns when the fire engulfed the parking area and spread into the building. She died in intensive care at Ippokrateio Hospital.
Four other people were injured in the same incident. Afroditi Nestora suffered burns and was treated in the burns unit at Papanikolaou Hospital. Her father and two other residents of the building were hospitalised primarily for smoke inhalation and respiratory difficulties. Most of the injured were later reported stable or discharged. Investigators attributed the rapid and deadly spread of the fire to the ignition of vehicle fuel in the confined parking space beneath the building.
3. Prominent New Democracy Figures Named as Targets
Greek government and police statements identified the targets as current or former figures from New Democracy, the country’s centre-right ruling party. Zisis Ioakimovic serves as President of the party’s Thessaloniki Administrative Committee and holds a senior local organisational role. Savvas Anastasiadis is a former long-serving Member of Parliament for the Thessaloniki area. Afroditi Nestora is a parliamentary candidate for New Democracy in the Thessaloniki constituency.
Authorities stated that the attacks were directed at the individuals because of their political affiliation and public roles within the ruling party. The coordinated timing and selection of targets across different districts led investigators to conclude that the strikes were planned as a single operation rather than isolated incidents.
4. Counter-Terrorism Operation Yields Three Arrests
On 10 July 2026, Greece’s Counter-Terrorism Unit carried out coordinated raids in Thessaloniki and on the island of Crete, resulting in the arrest of three individuals. Police linked the three primarily to the fatal Harilaou attack and assessed that separate operational teams were likely responsible for the first two incidents.
The arrested individuals are a 26-year-old woman, detained in Chania, Crete; a 29-year-old man, detained in Thessaloniki; and a 24-year-old man, also detained in Thessaloniki. Investigators described the woman and the 29-year-old man as the operational pair who carried out the Harilaou attack. The 24-year-old man owned an apartment near the target building that was used as a safe house before and after the incident. Evidence cited includes CCTV footage showing scouting of the target the previous day, movements between locations, and forensic traces from the scene. The three are expected to face charges under Greece’s anti-terrorism legislation.
5. Suspects’ Ties to Thessaloniki Anarchist Networks
Two of the arrested suspects have prior documented connections to anarchist and anti-authoritarian networks active in Thessaloniki, according to police records and court proceedings.
The 26-year-old woman was previously convicted and imprisoned in 2022 as a member of Anarchiki Drasi (Anarchist Action). Greek authorities attributed this group with a series of gas-canister incendiary attacks in Thessaloniki from at least 2016. In February 2022, three members of the group were arrested shortly after placing a similar device at a religious foundation building in the Ano Poli district. During related searches, police recovered a handgun, ammunition, flammable chemicals, and materials used in the construction of incendiary devices. The group operated within the broader pattern of low-technology direct actions targeting political or institutional sites.
The 29-year-old man has been described by police as linked to the Symvoulio Anarchikon Thessalonikis (Anarchist Council of Thessaloniki), a local assembly involved in coordination and solidarity activities. These networks typically function as loose, decentralised affinity groups rather than formal organisations. Their reported tactics have focused on the use of simple incendiary devices against symbols of political authority or state institutions, most often resulting in property damage rather than casualties.
6. Government and Police Leaders Condemn Attacks as Terrorism
Greek political leaders responded quickly with strong condemnations, framing the incidents as terrorism rather than legitimate protest. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the injured at hospital in Thessaloniki and described the attacks as “cowardly, terrorist and murderous.” He stated that violence has no place in an organised society and pledged “zero tolerance for any new form of terrorism.”
Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis called the strikes “an extreme coordinated murderous attack” carried out by individuals operating “under the guise of a so-called ideology.” He emphasised that placing such devices on occupied homes and vehicles demonstrated acceptance of the risk of death or serious injury. New Democracy organised public demonstrations under the message that its members would not be intimidated.
Police spokesperson Konstantia Dimoglidou confirmed the attacks were likely coordinated and explained that the fatal fire spread was significantly worsened by vehicle fuel ignition. She noted that police did not expect a public claim of responsibility given the death and injuries, and highlighted the practical challenges of securing court-admissible evidence in cases involving crude incendiary devices. Citizens’ Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis stated that those who endanger human lives must face severe punishment.
7. Background: Political Violence and Anarchist Activity in Greece
Greece has a decades-long history of anarchist and anti-authoritarian groups conducting low-yield incendiary attacks, most commonly against banks, political offices, or state symbols. These actions have typically caused material damage with limited casualties. The 1 July 2026 incidents are notable for their coordination across multiple targets linked to the ruling party and for resulting in the first fatality connected to such attacks on politicians in more than a decade.
Thessaloniki maintains an active decentralised anarchist milieu, often centred around the Aristotle University area. Groups and assemblies within this scene have periodically employed similar gas-canister tactics. Authorities assess that these networks operate through loose affinity structures, making identification and disruption more complex than with formal organisations.
Conclusion
As of 15 July 2026, the three arrested suspects remain in custody while the Counter-Terrorism Unit continues forensic analysis, CCTV review, and property searches. Investigations into possible additional perpetrators linked to the first two attacks are ongoing. The case has renewed focus on political violence in Greece and the challenges of addressing low-technology attacks carried out by decentralised networks. Further developments, including any additional arrests or court proceedings, are expected as the investigation progresses.