Explosive device goes off outside church in central Athens; officer injured

A homemade explosive mechanism blew up outside Aghios Dionysios church in the upscale Athenian district of Kolonaki on Thursday morning injuring a policeman, Greek media reported.

The device was placed inside a metallic box discovered by a church employee who notified police, according to the head of the police's special guards union, Stavros Mavroidakos.

The bomb injured the officer who arrived to examine the box on his face and hands and had to be transferred to a military hospital, TV station Skai reported. It was not immediately clear how serious his condition was, but media reports indicated his life is not in danger.

The church employee also suffered minor injuries. 

Mavroidakos told Skai there was no warning call. Police has cordoned off the area.