Small bombs explode along Tour de France route

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Two small explosive devices detonated Wednesday in northern Spain along a route used by the Tour de France cycling race after a warning call by the Basque separatist group ETA, the Interior Ministry said. No one was injured. The explosions occurred just a kilometer (half-mile) from the border with France, outside Belagua, a town in the Navarra region, the Interior Ministry office in Navarra said. The race itinerary took cyclists into Spain on Wednesday. The devices exploded 40 minutes apart on opposite sides of the road after a caravan of Tour-related publicity vehicles, which precedes the riders, had passed. The race's route was not changed, an official with the Navarra office said on condition of anonymity because of department rules. The devices were inside plastic food containers and involved "a small amount of explosives," this official said. They exploded on bluffs overlooking the road and kicked up some earth but caused no injuries, he said.