Group Claims Responsibility for Hellenic Train Bomb Attack

On the heels of a bomb attack at Hellenic Train on Friday evening, an organization called “Revolutionary Class Self-Defense” has claimed responsibility for the bomb attack outside the offices of Hellenic Train, as well as for a separate attack on the Ministry of Labor.

The group posted a manifesto on a platform called Indymedia, explaining their motivation for the attacks. Their proclamation opens with the slogan: “Death on the scaffolds, death on the trains—capitalism feeds on blood.” They state that the slogan was born during the mass protests of March 2023 following the Tempi rail disaster.

The proclamation continues: “On January 26 and February 28, 2025, hundreds of thousands protested against the government’s murderous anti-labor reforms and against Hellenic Train, a subsidiary of the Italian monopoly Ferrovie dello Stato, which bears the primary responsibility for the murder of 57 people in Tempi on February 28, 2023.”

The organization claims the protests and strikes related to Tempi were also an expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people, stating: “Taking place in a country with an active role in the U.S.-Zionist genocidal war in Palestine, the demonstrations were a concrete act of solidarity with the heroic Palestinian resistance, which is leading the way for global liberation.”

They emphasize that the February 28 strike was: “A response to the blood spilled daily in workplaces. A cry of pain for our injured and fallen colleagues, siblings, parents, children, and friends who were lost or maimed in the struggle to earn a living. A response to the relentless class war we face every day.”

On Hellenic Train and the Government, Revolutionary Class Self-Defense writes: “Lavishly funded and free from even the slightest regulatory oversight, Hellenic Train—backed by a government wholly committed to serving its interests—was free to pursue the ultimate capitalist objective: maximum profit.  As Marx said, ‘There is no crime that capital is not capable of committing, nor a law it cannot trample.’”

The group also criticizes the government’s handling of the Tempi disaster: “The class nature of the Tempi crime shaped the political and judicial response. Even before the blood had dried, the incident was blamed on ‘human error’ and the long-standing ‘dysfunctions’ of the Greek state—calls that in reality demanded more privatizations and freedom for capital, leading to new assaults on what remains of public infrastructure.”

They accuse the state of attempting to cover up the evidence: “Under government orders, and in violation of all protocols, the site of the disaster was hastily cleared—disregarding the bodies of the dead—obstructing the investigation and concealing the responsibility of Hellenic Train. These include its role in the massive fireball that killed passengers, and its connection to both the state and illegal capital.”

“They removed Hellenic Train’s management and the Ministry of Transport from criminal responsibility through their own justice system, along with all those officials—past and present—who allowed the railway to deteriorate to the point that, on February 28, 2023, it had become a public danger. […] This isn’t merely a cover-up. It’s the full assumption of responsibility for the murder of 57 people.”

The group ends the manifesto with: “We dedicate these two actions to the Palestinian people and their heroic resistance. Eternal honor to Kyriakos Xymitiris and to all who have fallen in the struggle for social revolution.”

Friday evening’s bomb went off at 9.35 p.m., 42 minutes after a telephone warning had been given to two media organizations. The Efimerida ton Syntakton daily and the Zougla website received an anonymous call at 8.53 p.m. to say a bomb had been placed outside the offices and would explode in 35-40 minutes.