Three reported killed in Greek protests

Swarms of violent groups overtook a general protest against austerity measures in the city center on Wednesday, lashing out at the government and security forces and hurling gasoline bombs that, according to the police, set fire to a bank building and killed three workers. The demonstration had drawn tens of thousands of people near the central square in front of Parliament as part of a general strike that paralyzed airline flights, ferries, schools and hospitals. It did not initially appear different from many other, mostly peaceful protests in recent months, as Greece's financial crisis has deepened and the likelihood of painful sacrifices has grown into a certainty. But among the demonstrators were subgroups of protesters who numbered in the hundreds–mostly young and many clad in black, wearing hoods or masks and carrying helmets, wooden bats or hammers–and whom the police and other demonstrators identified broadly as anarchists. They led efforts to storm the Parliament building, chanting "thieves, thieves," and hurling rocks and gasoline bombs. Some chased the ceremonial guards from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of the building.