Police outside Israeli Embassy in Athens (archive)
Police outside Israeli Embassy in Athens (archive)Reuters

Police in Greece early on Friday (local time) were investigating a strafing attack on the Israeli embassy in Athens in which nobody was injured, a police source said, according to AFP.

The shots were apparently fired from a motorcycle with two persons passing in front of the embassy, which lies on the corner of a busy highway, the police said.

Another two persons on a second motorcycle are suspected of participating in the 3:20 a.m. (local time) attack.

Early evidence suggests a Kalashnikov assault rifle was used, the police said.

Bullet casings collected from the scene are to be examined by Greece's anti-terrorist squad for possible matches to other attacks, the police said.

The incident comes two days after Palestinian Authority minister Ziad Abu Ein died of a heart attack following a confrontation with Israeli soldiers.

There is strong condemnation in Greece of Israel's policies in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, with many protests held in support of Palestinian Arabs, but so far there is no indication that the shooting incident was related to this.

Embassies and diplomatic vehicles in Greece have been targeted in attacks by far-left groups in recent years, noted AFP.

The residence of the German ambassador in Athens has been hit twice -- with two assault rifles in 2013 and a rocket in 1999. Nobody inside was hurt.

In 2007, another rocket was fired at the United States embassy in Athens without injuring anyone.

All three attacks were claimed by far-left groups, two of which have since been dismantled by the police.

The group involved in the 2013 attack on the German residence, the People's Fighter Group, is still at large.