Car bomb explodes in Basque city in Spain; separatist group ETA blamed

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A van packed with explosives blew up Friday outside a police station in the Basque country, shattering windows, destroying cars and injuring two officers in the first serious attack by the separatist group ETA since it called off cease-fire in June. Authorities blamed ETA for the pre-dawn blast targeting a Civil Guard station in Durango, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Bilbao, the region's main city. It caused residents of nearby apartment buildings to dash out in the streets in rainy weather, some still in their pajamas. The police facility also includes living quarters for 30 officers and their families, although it was not known how many people were there at the time of the blast. ETA usually phones in warnings before it attacks, but this time it did not. "Families and children live in that police station, which makes the attack all the more despicable," said Paulino Luesma, the Spanish Interior Ministry's representative in the Basque region. Two officers were treated for cuts from flying glass and later released.