ETA responsible for Spain blast

MADRID, Spain -- Basque separatist group ETA has claimed responsibility for a car bomb blast in a prosperous residential area in a small town in Spain's Basque region.

A warning had been called in to a Basque Highway emergency sevice, who contacted police. They were able to clear the area of Getxo, near Bilbao, when the blast happened on Saturday.

ETA has killed more than 800 people since 1968 in its drive for an independent state in Basque areas of northern Spain and south-western France.

IN-DEPTH Basque conflict: Violence in Spain

ETA said earlier this month its gunmen had shot dead a Socialist town councillor in a bar in northern Spain in March -- the group's first killing of the year.

Spain has stepped up cooperation with French authorities in combating ETA in recent months and police have made about 70 arrests on both sides of the border so far this year.

On Friday, French police arrested an alleged ETA veteran wanted in Spain for more than 16 years.