Vandalized gravestones (illustrative)
Vandalized gravestones (illustrative)Reuters

Unknown assailants destroyed several Jewish headstones in a cemetery in a southwestern suburb of Athens, Greek police said Saturday.

"Marble grave headstones were damaged in the Jewish part of the Nikea cemetery," a police spokesman told AFP, without giving further details.

Police have opened an investigation into the incident.

The head of the Central Jewish Council of Greece (KIS), Minos Moissis, said he was "very angry" about the desecration in a Facebook post that included pictures of two broken headstones.

Jewish graves have been a recurring target of vandals in Greece, often by members of the far-right.

The vandalism comes amid fears of rising anti-Semitism in Europe after a spate of recent incidents across the continent.