One hurt in Spain explosion

Spanish firemen tackle the blazing car

MADRID, Spain -- One person has been slightly injured after an explosion outside a court building in the capital of Spain's Basque country.

Officials said the explosion in Vitoria appeared to be the work of the armed separatist group ETA.

Reuters reported that the explosives were believed to have been packed into a car trailer. Officials said it appeared a car bomb was the cause of the explosion.

The apparent bomb went off at around 6 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) on Monday morning outside the Palace of Justice in the centre of Vitoria.

Reuters said parked cars caught fire after the explosion and that the court building was damaged.

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The person injured was hit by flying debris and was not seriously hurt, said a spokesman for the region's police force.

Warning calls were made to a highway rescue organisation and a local radio station.

"We had got used to a time without attacks but we are back to usual now," the Spanish government's representative in the Basque region, Enrique Villar, told Reuters.

"We always have to fear the worst and this is just another example."

The last attack linked to ETA was in late August when a car bomb blew up at Madrid's international airport.

Police have since arrested several suspected members of ETA in operations in France and Spain.

ETA has claimed 35 killings since it ended a ceasefire in late 1999 and a total of around 800 since it began its violent campaign for independence in 1968.