ATHENS, May 30 (Xinhua) -- A strong explosion occurred early Tuesday in central Athens near the residence of Greek Culture Minister George Voulgarakis, causing no injuries but extensive damage to several parked cars.

    Police believed that the minister was the target of the home-made explosive device, but there was no previous warning of the explosion nor has any group claimed responsibility as at noon.

    Voulgarakis, who held the portfolio of Public Order Minister before the cabinet reshuffle in early February, admitted that he has received a barrage of threats, adding "I have been targeted".

    "Every bomb, in a period of democracy, is targeted against democracy itself, and not against specific individuals," he said.

    The explosion, just 200 meters from Voulgarakis' apartment at 7:42 a.m. (local time), was due to a home-made bomb placed in a travel bag that the perpetrators had hung on a bicycle they placed between two parked cars, police said.

    Police were in the area with a bomb sniffing dog as part of normal precautions, and the explosive device went off three minutes before the minister was due to pass the area.

    Police disclosed that a car was approaching the spot when the bomb went off, and police believe this could have misled the perpetrators who possibly thought that the approaching car was an escort for the minister's car, thus causing them to detonate the explosive device earlier.

    It was as yet unknown how the bomb was detonated, since the explosion destroyed the entire mechanism and remnants have not been found, but bomb-disposal experts said that, given the strength of the explosive material, which was equal to about 2 kilograms of ammonia dynamite, it was very likely that the device was detonated by remote control.

    The strong explosion causes extensive damage to the two cars between which the bicycle had been placed, the police car and to other cars parked along the curb, while debris from the cars was hurled at least 10 meters away, breaking the windows of a nearby school, which was empty at the time.

    Government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos condemned the attack and expressed the government' s support for Voulgarakis' family, which he said, had become the target of such an attack forthe second time in three years.

    Such attacks actually targeted democracy itself, the spokesman added, while noting that Greek democracy was strong and not threatened by such incidents. Enditem