Car bombs rock Costa del Sol

The aftermath of the explosion in Marbella

MARBELLA, Spain (CNN) -- Three car bombs have exploded on Spain's Costa Del Sol, injuring seven people, as EU leaders hold a summit in Seville.

Six people were injured in the first blast in the resort town of Fuengirola. There were no injuries in the second blast in Marbella.

Police said telephone calls warning of the bombs were made to authorities before each blast by someone claiming to represent the Basque separatist group ETA. The caller provided the times and places of the blasts.

The first explosion happened at about 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) near the Piramides hotel in Fuengirola, about 20 miles (32 kilometres) west of Malaga.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told reporters in Seville that three British citizens were among the injured, including one person who was "critically ill," and two children who were slightly injured.

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The British Embassy in Madrid identified the seriously-injured person as a 32-year-old man who suffered shrapnel wounds in the blast.

Straw expressed "profound concern and anger" over the attacks, and the host of the summit, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, expressed his regret to British Prime Minister Tony Blair over the injuries to British nationals, an aide to Aznar told reporters.

Authorities identified the other three injured people as a Moroccan child and a Spanish man and woman.

Many British visitors were in bars in the town following their national soccer team's World Cup match against Brazil.

The second blast occurred in the nearby city of Marbella. A phone call was made 20 minutes before that car bomb went off, allowing police to cordon off the area, and no-one was injured.

Police inspect the scene of the first blast, in Fuengirola

The third car bomb exploded Friday night in the north central city of Zaragoza, outside a branch of the nation's largest department store chain, el Corte Ingles, injuring a security guard, state radio reported.

A warning call was made in the name of ETA before the blast, and police cordoned off the area. The blast came about 10:15 p.m., after the department store closed for the night

Spanish National Radio said the three ETA bombs were meant to cast a shadow over an EU meeting in Seville, more than 100 miles (161 kilometres) north-west of Malaga. The two-day summit marks the end of Spain's six-month rotating presidency of the EU.

The blasts happened as the European Council summit in Seville, more than 100 miles (161 km) northwest of Malaga was getting under way. The summit marks the end of Spain's six-month rotating presidency of the EU. (Full story)

ETA has killed more than 800 people in a three-decade campaign for independence for the northern Basque region from the central state.

-- Madrid Bureau Chief Al Goodman contributed to this report.