Greece car bomb kills UK woman

ATHENS, Greece (CNN) -- A British woman was killed when a bomb she was carrying in her car blew up, local reports have said.

Susan-Mary Arris, 49, was found dead in her car early on Thursday in the resort suburb of Voula in Athens.

She was wearing gloves and ear plugs and the bomb's remote detonator was in a bag she wore around her neck, leading police to believe she was intending to plant the bomb herself.

Police told Reuters all indications were that the incident was linked to Greece's underworld rather than an urban guerrilla group that often targets cars and businesses in the Greek capital.

They did not know how the bomb was triggered but said it must have been accidental.

The blast -- which happened at 11.50 p.m. (2250 GMT) on Wednesday evening -- blew out the windows of the car, a white luxury BMW with foreign licence plates, either British or Cypriot. The woman's dog survived the blast.

A police official told Reuters: "This was not terrorism. It is clear it is a case of common crime. She apparently stopped to check the bomb and something went wrong.

"Evidence shows she was connected to the underworld."

The British-born Arris had lived in Greece for decades and police said they believed she was connected to a family with links to a protection racket at Athens nightclubs.

One of the family was shot dead in front of the Athens main court building nearly two years ago while awaiting trial. His father was also shot dead while driving in his car a few months later, despite wearing a bulletproof vest.

Arris, who also had Greek citizenship, had been married to a Greek Australian who disappeared about five years ago, police said.

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