Spain bomb deepens tourism fears

A plainclothes police officer stands in the bomb damaged Civil Guard barracks

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- As Spain mourns two people killed by a bomb in a small town on the country's southeastern coast, fears are already being expressed about the impact on the country's tourist industry.

Authorities said they suspected the Basque separitist group ETA was responsible for Sunday evening's attack in front of a Civil Guard barracks in Santa Pola.

The bomb exploded on Sunday evening near a bus stop, killing the six-year-old daughter of a Civil Guard member and a man in his 50s.

Fifteen people were taken to area hospitals and 25 others were treated in Santa Pola at or near the scene of the explosion, which blew out windows and tore apart the façade of a three-story building.

The bombing happened in the old town section of Santa Pola used primarily by local residents, not holidaymakers.

A government official told CNN it was not clear whether there was a warning call before the blast, but he said a call apparently was made afterwards, warning authorities of a potential second bomb.

The area was cordoned off, but no second bomb was found, the official said.

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CNN's Al Goodman said the bombing had already sent a shockwave through Spain's lucrative tourist trade.

He said there was serious concern in Spain about the lack of warning given before the blast. "Officials fear it could mark a change of tactic.

"The flow of Germans and Britons, who come to Spain in their millions every year, has already declined this summer. Competition from other Mediterranean countries and fears raised by the September 11 attacks are two reasons cited.

"Now there is another reason, ETA attacks, which have long targeted the tourist industry. But seldom with such deadly effect."

In an editorial on Monday, the newspaper El Pais said: "Once again, peaceful citizens starting their holidays in a quiet tourist spot have seen their lives cut up by (ETA's) savageness."

One man told Reuters: "Summer holidaymakers won't want to come here and those that are already here might leave earlier."

"Nobody is safe from these criminals," Mayor Francisco Conejero told state radio, adding that 150 people would be evacuated from their homes because of the damage and to make way for the investigation.

Santa Pola is on the Mediterranean coast, about 12 miles (20 kilometres) from the city of Alicante.

ETA has frequently targeted installations of the Civil Guard, a paramilitary national police force, and it has also targeted Spain's lucrative tourist industry in its 34-year fight for Basque independence. The outlawed group is blamed for about 800 deaths.

ETA, which stands for Basque homeland and liberty, most recently exploded a series of bombs near southern beach towns and other targets in June.

Sunday's bomb was the first lethal attack blamed on the Basque separatists since Socialist politician Juan Priede, 69, was shot dead in a bar in March.

ETA is listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union, which includes Spain.