Previously Unknown Group Says It Shot Greek Extremists

By Alkman Granitsas

The Wall Steet Journal

Urban Guerrillas Say They Killed Two and Injured One in Retaliation for Rap Artist's Murder

A previously unknown urban guerrilla group has claimed responsibility for the shooting of three alleged members of Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party earlier this month outside local party offices in a suburb north of Athens.

ATHENS—A previously unknown urban guerrilla group has claimed responsibility for the shooting of three alleged members of Greece’s far-right Golden Dawn party earlier this month outside local party offices in a suburb north of Athens.

The group, the “Fighting Peoples’ Revolutionary Forces,” said Saturday it had shot the three men in retaliation for the recent death of a left-wing rap artist, Pavlos Fyssas, who was fatally stabbed by a self-professed Golden Dawn supporter in mid-September.

In an 18-page statement published on a local news website, the group said the attack that left two people dead and a third injured was the beginning of a popular struggle to crush the far-right party. It pledged to “exterminate” members and followers of Golden Dawn. The statement warned the group would blame Golden Dawn for any attacks in Greece by anyone against immigrants, leftists or anarchists.

The group’s acknowledgment of its role in the shootings comes amid a crackdown by the Greek government on Golden Dawn, which is alleged to have violent tactics and extremist views. After the death of Mr. Fyssas, the government has sought to have the party declared a criminal organization and has since moved to strip Golden Dawn of state financing.

Golden Dawn, which first entered Parliament last year, is seen by many Greeks as extremist in its positions and tactics, especially with its swastikalike emblem. Since the crackdown began, several members of the party’s top leadership have been jailed pending trial, as prosecutors build their case.

Golden Dawn denies any links with Nazism, denies any involvement in the killing of the rap artist and says it doesn’t condone violence.

Since the death of Mr. Fyssas, combined with some of the revelations about the party’s alleged violent policies that have come to light in recent weeks, Golden Dawn’s popularity has started to sink.

However, according to two public opinion polls released late on Saturday, the party remains Greece’s third most popular, trailing only the governing center-right New Democracy party and the radical left Syriza party-garnering between 6.2% and 8.8% of the vote.

Write to Alkman Granitsas at alkman.granitsas@wsj.com