Car blast rocks Spanish town

The damaged car was examined by police

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- One man has been seriously injured and another wounded after a car exploded in northern Spain.

The blast happened on Tuesday morning in Sestao, near Bilbao, the largest Basque city, police said.

The injured man, Eduardo Madina, 26, is a prominent member of The Youth Wing of the Socialist Party.

His left leg had to be amputated after the explosion, which happened as he drove to work.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but a spokesman for the Ertzaintza regional police force said the attack bore the hallmarks of ETA, which has frequently used car bombs in its 34-year campaign for Basque independence.

Madina is a member of the Elkarri social group, which has been working for years in the Basque region to resolve the conflict peacefully.

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"The attack is to be condemned and abhorred," said Bittor Aierdi, spokesman for

Elkarri.

"Eduardo Madina worked on our project to bring peace to the Basque region. We will continue. Whoever has a better alternative for peace, let them put it on the table."

At the end of 2001 ETA was among a number of organisations accused of terrorist activity by the European Union in the wake of the September 11 attacks and the creation of the international coalition against terrorism.

A recent police crackdown on ETA has resulted in the arrest of more than 100 suspects in Spain and in ETA's traditional rearguard in France.