Two Golden Dawn supporters shot dead in drive-by in Greece

Shooting comes two months after fatal stabbing of anti-fascist rapper

Police officers at the scene of the shooting, outside the local branch of the Golden Dawn party at the northern Athens suburb of Neo Iraklio (GETTY)

Two members of Greece's far-right party Golden Dawn have been shot and killed outside one of their offices in Athens.

The men, both in their 20s, died at the scene. A third member was also wounded in drive-by killing, which police called a "terrorist attack".

A statement from the party - which has 18 seats in the country's 300-member parliament - read: "Two helmeted terrorists on a motorbike stopped in front of Golden Dawn's offices in [the northern Athens suburb of] Neo Iraklio while the office was open and a lot of people were [gathered around] its entrance.

"The co-rider got off [the bike] and in cold blood executed two young men at a distance of about half a metre. Before leaving the terrorists fired again … they literally emptied their weapons [of bullets] on top of them."

According to the Financial Times, party members were gathering for a speech by a party official.

Greece's public order minister Nikos Dendias said last night: "I express my sorrow at the death of two young men. The law will prevail.

"The country will not be allowed to become a battlefield for the settling of scores."

The shooting is only the latest fuel to a fiery political atmosphere in the crisis-hit country. In September, anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas - also known as "Killah P" - was killed in an apparently politically motivated attack blamed on Golden Dawn. The 34-year-old was stabbed in the chest after leaving a cafe with friends.

Though the party vehemently denied involvement, the murder precipitated a crackdown on its activities. Its leader, Nikos Mihaloliakos, was arrested on charges of running a criminal organisation. He and two other members await trial.

Parliament stripped four others - who are expected to face similar charges - of their immunity from prosecution. The government has in the past promised to wipe out a party it describes as a "neo-Nazi gang".

Though it uses a swastika-like emblem and its leader has denied the Holocaust, the party rejects the neo-Nazi label.

Dimitris Papadimoulis, a lawmaker from the leftist opposition Syriza party which has fiercely opposed Golden Dawn, called the shootings a "blow to democracy".

"It feeds fascism, it does not beat it," he tweeted.