March 06, 2018•Update: March 06, 2018
By Tony Rigopoulos
ATHENS
At least six suspects affiliated with a far-right extremist group were taken into custody by the Greek anti-terrorism police during a operation on Tuesday, the country’s state-run news agency reported.
According to the Athens Macedonian News Agency, the group which goes by the name "Combat 18 Hellas" has carried out more than 15 attacks till date.
Greek counter-terrorism police raided houses in various parts of Athens, and one more location outside the city, the agency said quoting police sources.
"Combat 18 Hellas" is considered to be one of the most radical far-right organizations in Greece.
During the raids, police also confiscated large amounts of Molotov cocktails, flammable fluids explosives.
"Combat 18 Hellas" has attacked several leftist, anarchist immigrant hangouts. The group has also vandalized at least one Jewish cemetery and became widely known when they attempted to destroy a monument in the memory of Pavlos Fyssas, a young anti-fascist musician who was murdered in 2013 by a member of the far-right party "Golden Dawn," the agency said.
Number 18 in the group's name relates to the position of the letters “A” and “H” in the English alphabet, a direct link to Adolf Hitler’s initials.
"Combat 18 Hellas" is allegedly linked to the British neo-Nazi group "Combat 18". Christos Karagiannides, a Greek lawmaker of the ruling party SYRIZA, had said in the parliament in 2015 that the group functioned as Golden Dawn's armed branch.
The crackdown on the group came amid the major trial of Golden Dawn, which is accused of being a criminal organization targeting immigrants, refugees political opponents.
