Two tourists injured in knife attack near Greece's ancient Acropolis area

A 60-year-old man attacked two Greek-American tourists with a knife on Tuesday in the Acropolis area, near the archaeological site which hosts Greece's famed ancient monuments, before being arrested by police.

The two victims, a man and a woman aged 73 and 78 respectively, were offered medical aid and their injuries are not life-threatening, a police official said.

The attacker has been hospitalised in the past on mental health grounds, the official said, adding that he also had a criminal record and had been arrested previously for possessing a knife.

"We just heard people screaming and a crowd running away, so we obviously took cover," said Tracey Dewey, a visitor from Cape Town, South Africa.

The rare incident occurred as Greece and its visitors brave the country's first heatwave of the summer, its main tourism season.

-Reporting by Yannis Souliotis and Deborah Kyvrikosaios; writing by Renee Maltezou;Editing by Gareth Jones/Reuters