Vandals target German head of EU's Greece 'task force'

(BERLIN) - The German head of a European task force to help debt-wracked Greece fix its economy has been the victim of arson and vandalism claimed by Greek militants, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Horst Reichenbach found his family's car torched and his house in Potsdam near Berlin sprayed with paint, Helmut Lange, a prosecution spokesman, told AFP.

He added that a Greek group had claimed responsibility for the acts, which took place in the early hours of Monday, without giving more precise details.

The Die Welt daily said that authorities were looking into claims by a far-left group called "friends of Loukanikos", named after a dog that became an unofficial mascot of city protests and an online sensation.

Sable-furred Loukanikos -- 'sausage' in Greek -- was granted his own photo gallery in Time magazine's 'Person of the Year' award.

Lange said that prosecutors had opened a probe into the alleged offences.

European Commission spokesman Antony Gravili confirmed that Brussels was "aware of the incident" and the German police investigation.

"We condemn this isolated attack on a member of commission staff but we are not going to comment on the motivations," said Gravili.

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