Special Suppressive Antiterrorist Unit (Greece)

Special Suppressive Antiterrorist Unit
Eidikí Katastaltikí Antitromokratikí Monáda
Ειδική Κατασταλτική Αντιτρομοκρατική Μονάδα
Active1978–present
Country Greece
AgencyHellenic Police
TypePolice tactical unit
Role
AbbreviationEKAM
Structure
Operators200
Website
Official website (en)

The Special Suppressive Antiterrorist Unit (EKAM; Greek: Ειδική Κατασταλτική Αντιτρομοκρατική Μονάδα, romanized: Eidikí Katastaltikí Antitromokratikí Monáda) is the police tactical unit of the Hellenic Police. EKAM was formed in 1978 by the merger of two tactical units, one from each of the police organizations (the Hellenic Gendarmerie and the Cities Police) that existed at the time.

The first units operational in 1978 were the Special Missions Unit (MEA) of the City Police and the Special Missions Department (TEIDA) of the Hellenic Gendarmerie. EKAM originally had 150 operators; however, when Greece became the host country of the 2004 Summer Olympics, their number increased to 200 due to the magnitude of the event.[1]

Training

The EKAM force is based in Athens, but several detachments are spread throughout Greece's major cities. Each officer is a full-time member who must have at least five years on the force before being allowed to try out. Many receive training from the Greek Army's Ranger School before going on to the police counter-terrorism school.[2]

EKAM holds a three-month training program every year. For its training modern, purpose-built facilities are being used. Training can also take place in other locations such as buildings in urban or rural areas (inhabited or not), the Athens International Airport, planes of Olympic Airways, the Piraeus port infrastructure, the Hellenic Railroad system, the Athens Metro.[3][4][5] Other places that have been decided as suitable to cover its training needs can also be used. The Unit is in constant cooperation with other Special Units abroad such as the FBI, SAS and ERU via the ATLAS Network.[6][7]

EKAM operators are trained as specialists:[8]

  • Special Assault Teams
  • Sharp shooters
  • Breachers - Forced entry against doors and walls.
  • Paratroopers
  • Water Assaulters - Frogmen
  • Rappel Teams
  • Ski Assaulters
  • Tactical Medics
  • Canine Handlers

Competitions

EKAM participates annually in the Warrior competition organized at King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Centre (KASOTC) in Jordan.[8][9]

  • May 2018: 5th place overall, the highest score of any European group.
  • May 2017: 3rd place in two of the events and 5th place overall
  • May 2016: 8th place overall

Operations and critics

EKAM operates all around Greece and abroad whenever is deemed necessary.[10] It has confronted challenges such as hostage situations and it has contributed in the arrests of many dangerous criminals, playing a key role in the dismantling of the November 17 and Revolutionary People's Struggle terrorist organizations.[11][12]

In March 2003, it successfully resolved an incident on a Turkish Airlines flight, which was hijacked during a domestic flight in Turkey, from Istanbul to Ankara, and was forced to land at the Athens International Airport by the hijacker.[13] The Unit stormed the plane and arrested the hijacker by incapacitating him with a taser.[14] All the hostages were safely released.[15]

In 2022, EKAM was called to a hostage situation in the Pallini suburb of Attica after a man held 4 people hostage.[16] The man was apprehended and nobody was killed in the incident.[17]

In the same year, they were called in a hostage and domestic violence situation that lasted several hours. The perpetrator and former partner of the victim forced his ex-wife at knifepoint to follow him from her house in Galatsi to his own in Agios Panteleimonas. At home, he threatened the police units by holding a gas cylinder and a lighter, threatening to cause an explosion. According to an interview with a police officer, the suspect stated: "I will blow up the whole building, whatever is destined to happen will happen, I don't care about my life, I will go to Allah". Although the suspect and the police had established negotiations beforehand, it was established that the suspect was not going to surrender. After the building was evacuated by police, EKAM operators and other police units breached the door and arrested the man.[18][19] They were later commended by then–Minister of Citizen Protection Takis Theodorikakos.[20]

In October 2023, after the beginning of the Gaza war, EKAM was deployed to various locations, including a Panathinaikos vs Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball match, due to the heightened security risk.[21][22]

In February 2024, EKAM was called to Glyfada, after a shooting involving a 76 year old man. The suspect was a former employee of a shipping company of the Karnessis family, who had been fired after working for the company for 36 years. The perpetrator, knowing the building well, gained access from the basement and headed initially to the mezzanine floor, where he opened fire indiscriminately. Three people were killed, including the owner Maria Karnessis, the shipping company’s managing director Antonis Vlassakis, and the former captain and company accountant Elias Koukoularis.[23] A short time after, an EKAM team entered the premises of the shipping company in order to arrest the perpetrator. He was found dead in the basement with the shotgun next to him.[24] During the operation, EKAM located and evacuated two other employees of the shipping company.[25][26][27]

On Sunday December 8 2024, supporters of the HTS group who overthrew President Bashar al-Assad entered the Syrian embassy in Greece and raised the flag of rebel organisations.[28] EKAM was sent in to subdue the subjects.[29]

Failures

However, the history of operations of the EL.AS. in which EKAM forces participated includes two failures that caused intense public concern about the level of training and the degree of competence of these units.

Niobe Street Fiasco

The first incident occurred on September 23, 1998 and is also known as the Niovi Street fiasco. The Greek-Romanian thug Sorin Matei broke into the apartment of the Ginakis family at 4th Niovi Street. He took the three members of the family as hostage with the threat of disarming a grenade in his possession. The police believed that the grenade was fake and attempted an invasion. Matei was arrested but disarmed the grenade, the explosion of which seriously injured one of the hostages, Amalia Ginaki. Amalia Ginaki died a few days later at the Red Cross Hospital, where she was being treated. The incident forces the chief of police Ath. Vassilopoulos to resign.[30] [31] [32] [33]

Failure to arrest Kostas Passaris

The second incident occurred on July 31, 2001, when the notorious Greek thug Kostas Passaris escaped from an ambush by the Greek Police. Two police observers have been set up near the apartment building at 52-54 Hipparchou Street, in Neos Kosmos, where Passaris' apartment was located, and are waiting for him to appear. The remaining forces were located within a 500-meter radius so as not to make their presence noticeable. As soon as the observers notice Passaris, they notify the EKAM's men who have set up an ambush inside the thug's apartment and are waiting to arrest him. Passaris goes up to his apartment, is surprised by the EKAM forces and tried to escape. The EKAM men shoot him four times, hitting him once in the leg and once in the shoulder. Confusion was caused and they did not notify the police outside that the perpetrator is trying to escape. The EKAM men were slow to pursue the criminal and he escaped through the exit of the apartment building, limping with an injured leg.[34][35][36]

The "Junta-Fest"

Finally, several men and officers of the EKAM participated in 1993, a few days after the 26th anniversary of the April 21 Coup, in an open-air celebration in Thessaloniki where, among other things, they had fun to the sounds of songs praising the Colonels' Junta and "baptized" an Albanian immigrant in a nearby river, humiliating him. These events, which took place in the presence of the then commander of the EKAM Thessaloniki, were revealed in 1997 by the newspaper "Eleftherotypia" and became known as the "junto fest". The First-instance Three-Member Court of Appeal of Thessaloniki declared the eight police officers, including two former police directors, who participated there, not guilty.[37] [38][39][40][41]

Duties

Equipment

Model Type Origin Notes References
Ruger GP100 Revolver  United States [42]
Glock 21 Semi-automatic pistol Austria
SIG Sauer P229 Germany
FN Five-seven Belgium
CZ 75 Czech Republic
Heckler & Koch MP5 Submachine gun Germany A3, A4, A5, SD, K and K2 variants used
Heckler & Koch UMP
Uzi Belgium FN Herstal variants used [42][43][44]
FN P90
M16 Assault rifle  United States A2 & A4 variants used
M4A1
Heckler & Koch G3A3 West Germany
AK-47 Soviet Union
Remington 870 Shotgun United States
Benelli M4 Super 90 Italy
Vepr-12 Russia Fitted with foldable stocks, EOTECH sights and tactical scopes.
FN MAG Machine gun Belgium
Heckler & Koch G3SG/1 Sniper rifle Germany Fitted with a Carl Zeiss 10x42 scope; may also be equipped with a special night vision device
Accuracy International Arctic Warfare  United Kingdom Mounted with Schmidt and Bender 3-12x50 scopes;may also be equipped with a special night vision device
SR-25  United States Mounted with Leupold 3-12x50 scopes
Kefefs Greece Version P; may also be equipped with a special night vision device

References

  1. ^ a b "Special Anti-terrorist Unit - The Special Suppressive Counter-terrorism Unit (E.K.A.M.)" (in Greek). Ministry of Citizen Protection, Hellenic Police. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  2. ^ Michaletos, Ioannis (2007-02-01). "Greek Special Forces Outlook". rieas.gr. Research Institute for European and American Studies. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  3. ^ "Η Ειδική Κατασταλτική Αντιτρομοκρατική Μονάδα (Ε.Κ.Α.Μ.) | Ελληνική Αστυνομία". www.astynomia.gr. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  4. ^ Group), Radiotileoptiki S. A. (OPEN Digital (1980-01-01). "Βίντεο από άσκηση: Αστυνομικοί εξουδετερώνουν τρομοκράτες στο "Ελ. Βενιζέλος"". ΕΘΝΟΣ (in Greek). Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  5. ^ "24 ώρες στα άδυτα της Ελληνικής Αντιτρομοκρατικής Μονάδας (ΕΚΑΜ)". Palmografos.com. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  6. ^ "European Union cites Boston attack to justify major anti-terrorist operation". 24 April 2013. International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). 24 April 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2014. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  7. ^ Hickey, Aidan (2023-01-18). "EKAM: The Hellenic Special Suppressive Antiterrorist Unit". Grey Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  8. ^ a b "EKAM: A Greece's answer to the terror". Spec Ops Magazine. 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  9. ^ Kokkinidis, Tasos (2018-05-21). "Greek Anti-Terror Cops Trump European Rivals in International Contest". Greek Reporter.
  10. ^ "Counterterrorism Drills Conducted in Thessaloniki and Veria". Greek Reporter. 2023-06-03. EKAM is the Geek Police's elite counterterrorism unit, formed in 1978. The drills held last month were likely conducted by operators from EKAM 2, who are based in Thessaloniki. Most EKAM operators are based in Athens where EKAM 1 is located, but members of the 200-strong unit are present in most Greek cities across the country.
  11. ^ "Αποκαλύψεις για το "φιάσκο" της Ριανκούρ | BBC Greek". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  12. ^ "Η Ειδική Κατασταλτική Αντιτρομοκρατική Μονάδα (Ε.Κ.Α.Μ.)". astynomia.gr (in Greek).
  13. ^ Bruni, Frank (2003-03-29). "Turkish Jet Is Hijacked and Flown to Athens". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  14. ^ "Taser International, Inc. commends Greek Police Special Forces on use of Advanced Taser M26 to arrest Turkish Airlines Flight 160 hijacker". Taser International. Retrieved 2007-06-09.
  15. ^ "Turkish Aeroplane hijacked". BBC News. BBC. 2003-03-29.
  16. ^ "Αίσιο τέλος στο θρίλερ με την ομηρία στην Παλλήνη". tanea.gr (in Greek). 2022-02-06. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  17. ^ "Παλλήνη Αίσιο τέλος στην ομηρία - Επέμβαση των ΕΚΑΜ". CNN.gr (in Greek). 2022-02-06. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  18. ^ Niakari, Katia (2022-01-04). "Αποκλειστικό: Η δραματική επιχείρηση της ΕΚΑΜ στον Άγιο Παντελεήμονα λεπτό προς λεπτό" [Exclusive: The dramatic operation of EKAM in Agios Pantelemonas minute by minute]. iefimerida.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 2024-04-26. Το iefimerida.gr φέρνει στη δημοσιότητα, την κατάθεση αστυνομικού που συμμετείχε στην επιχείρηση και στις διαπραγματεύσεις που διήρκησαν πάνω από τέσσερις ώρες μέχρι τη σύλληψη του 34χρονου. [iefimerida.gr publishes the testimony of a policeman who participated in the operation and the negotiations that lasted more than four hours until the arrest of the 34-year-old.]
  19. ^ "Një egjiptian që u burgos për përdhunimin e të dashurës së tij, doli një vit më vonë dhe e bëri sërish! VIDEO" [An Egyptian who was imprisoned for raping his girlfriend, came out a year later and did it again! VIDEO]. Gazeta Shqiptare Online (in Albanian). 2023-01-10. Retrieved 2024-04-26. Për shkak të seriozitetit të situatës, në vendngjarje kanë shkuar një zyrtar gjyqësor, një negociator i posaçëm, persona të E.K.A.M., një repart i Departamentit të Agjencisë së Mjeteve Shpërthyese, një stacion E.K.A.B. dhe Zjarrfikësve, ndërsa për masa paraprake është evakuuar edhe pallati. Më në fund, në orën 20:45 të natës dhe pasi egjiptiani i dehur nuk është bindur dhe kërcënuar se do të kryente kërcënimet e tij, është kryer një operacion nga EKAM-i, ku e kanë neutralizuar. [Due to the seriousness of the situation, a court official, a special negotiator, people from EKAM, a department of the Department of the Explosive Devices Agency, an EKAB station and Firefighters went to the scene, while the building was also evacuated for precautionary measures. Finally, at 20:45 at night and after the drunk Egyptian was not convinced and threatened to carry out his threats, an operation was carried out by EKAM, where they neutralized him.]
  20. ^ "01-01-2022: Συγχαρητήρια Θεοδωρικάκου στους αστυνομικούς που συμμετείχαν στην επιχείρηση απελευθέρωσης γυναίκας ομήρου στον Άγιο Παντελεήμον" [01-01-2022: Theodorikakos congratulates the police officers who participated in the operation to free a woman hostage in Agios Panteleimonas]. www.minocp.gov.gr (in Greek).
  21. ^ ""Αστακός" το ΟΑΚΑ για το Παναθηναϊκός - Μακάμπι: ΕΚΑΜ και πάνοπλοι αστυνομικοί (εικόνες) - Law & Order" (in Greek). 2023-10-20. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  22. ^ "Στη Σταδίου διανυκτέρευσε η Μακάμπι Τελ Αβίβ, σε κατάσταση συναγερμού ΕΛΑΣ, ΕΚΑΜ και ΟΠΚΕ κατά την πορεία της αποστολής προς το ΟΑΚΑ". www.sport24.gr (in Greek). 20 October 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  23. ^ Ajdin, Adis (2024-02-13). "Four dead in shooting at Greek shipping firm". Splash247. Retrieved 2024-12-17.
  24. ^ "Greece: Four dead in shooting at shipping company". 2024-02-12. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  25. ^ "Shipping Company Tragedy: How the massacre happened – The shooter was determined to kill (photos)". 12 February 2024. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  26. ^ "Πυροβολισμοί στη Γλυφάδα: Ποιος ήταν ο δράστης του μακελειού - «Ήρθα για να ξεκαθαρίσουμε»" [Shooting in Glyfada: Who was the perpetrator of the massacre - "I have come to settle accounts"]. CNN.gr (in Greek). 2024-02-12. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  27. ^ "«Είναι πάνω ο Άρης και πυροβολεί!»: Σοκάρουν οι μαρτυρίες εργαζομένων για το μακελειό στη Γλυφάδα" ["Ares is up there shooting!": Shocking testimonies of workers about the massacre in Glyfada]. iefimerida. 2024-02-12. Νεκρός στο υπόγειο του κτιρίου της ναυτιλιακής βρέθηκε ο 70χρονος ένοπλος που εισέβαλε το πρωί στα γραφεία της εταιρείας πυροβολώντας με καραμπίνα. [...] η ομάδα της ΕΚΑΜ τον εντόπισε στο υπόγειο του κτιρίου νεκρό με την καραμπίνα που χρησιμοποίησε δίπλα του. [...] o δράστης, αιγυπτιακής καταγωγής, πρώην εργαζόμενους που απολύθηκε πρόσφατα, σκότωσε την ιδιοκτήτρια της ναυτιλιακής, τον γαμπρό της, έναν καπετάνιο και στη συνέχεια έβαλε τέλος στη ζωή του. [The 70-year-old gunman who stormed the company's offices this morning with a shotgun was found dead in the basement of the shipping company's building. [...] EKAM found him dead in the basement of the building with the shotgun he had used next to him. [...] the perpetrator, of Egyptian origin, a former employee who was recently fired, killed the owner of the shipping company, her son-in-law, a captain and then ended his life.]
  28. ^ Καραμήτρου, Μίνα (2024-12-08). "Κατάληψη της Πρεσβείας της Συρίας στην Αθήνα". CNN.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 2024-12-17.
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  41. ^ "Απόφαση χωρίς «κουκούλες»". omniatv.com. 1999-02-11.
  42. ^ a b "EKAM: The Hellenic Special Suppressive Antiterrorist Unit". greydynamics.com. January 18, 2023. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
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  44. ^ "Журнал для спецназа «Братишка» — Спецназ зарубежья: EKAM: греческий вариант". www.bratishka.ru. Archived from the original on 2018-09-06. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
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