ETA blamed for car bomb killing

One policeman, who was trying to clear the area, was killed in the blast

MADRID, Spain -- The Basque separatist group ETA has been blamed for a car bomb that killed a policeman and injured at least three other people.

The 33-year-old officer is believed to have been cordoning off the area around the vehicle -- in the north-eastern coastal town of Roses -- when the device exploded.

Hours later police carried out a controlled explosion on a second car bomb in the popular tourist resort of Gandia in south-east Spain.

Officials also linked the second incident on Sunday morning to ETA, which has been waging a renewed campaign of violence since ending a 14-month ceasefire in December 1999.

The radio said anonymous callers, claiming to represent the separatists, warned police about both bombs.

The first explosion happened at 11 p.m. local time (22:00 GMT) on Saturday -- just 25 minutes after the warning was given.

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The car was parked outside one of 30 hotels in the town of 11,500 inhabitants, though the holiday season has not yet begun.

The incident was similar to a car bomb attack eight days ago in the Basque town of Hernani in which one policeman died answering a fake call-out.

The second bomb, found in a car parked near the beach in Gandia, was detonated before dawn in a controlled explosion.

The blast damaged several vehicles and blew out windows in nearby buildings but no-one was injured.

If the attacks were carried out by ETA, they would be the first this year outside the Basque region.

The incidents cast a shadow over a crucial election campaign in the troubled area.

Basque regional President Juan Jose Ibarretxe was forced to call early elections because of a political crisis caused by ETA's return to arms.

His nationalists now face the biggest threat of losing power since democracy was restored in Spain in 1976.

CNN's Al Goodman said the blasts were "significant" in the run-up to the May 13 elections.

Saturday's bombing came hours after Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar attended a ruling Popular Party meeting in the Basque regional capital of Vitoria to formally present former Interior Minister Jaime Mayor Oreja as the party's top candidate in Basque elections.

Aznar and Mayor Oreja insist there can be no negotiations with ETA and that the group can be defeated with police and legal measures.

ETA has been blamed for more than 800 killings in its 33-year fight for an independent Basque state carved out of northern Spain and south-west France.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Association for Peace in the Basque Country
The Basque Government
Spanish Interior Ministry

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