Syntagma Square ‘bomb’ turns out to be old machine part

Police have lifted a cordon at downtown Athens' Syntagma Square after a chunk of metal initially believed to be an old mortar shell was identified as a machine part.

The bomb scare near the country's Parliament was sounded earlier on Tuesday after workers conducting maintenance on a water line on the corner of Nikis and Ermou streets struck metal.

The object had initially been thought to be a mortar shell, possibly from World War II, prompting police to cordon off the area and call in a bomb disposal unit from the Greek army.