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| Saturday, 22 June, 2002, 13:38 GMT 14:38 UK Two more bombs rock Spain All explosions were preceded by telephone warnings Two more bombs have exploded in Spain - the latest in a string of attacks in the past 24 hours blamed by police on the Basque separatist group ETA. Saturday's blasts happened in the southern town of Mijas, between Malaga and Marbella on the Costa del Sol, and in Santander on Spain's northern coast.
Three bombings on Friday coincided with the opening of the summit. Police said the first explosion on Saturday happened in a hotel parking area in Mijas, but it was not a car bomb, unlike the previous Costa del Sol explosions. Telephone warnings - believed to be from ETA - were received before the Mijas blast and the car bombing in Santander, which happened nearly two hours later. Santander police managed to cordon off the area targeted before the blast at 1447 (1247 GMT). ETA has killed more than 800 people in a 30-year independence campaign for the Basque region. Small charge The Spanish news agency Efe, quoting police sources, said the Mijas package bomb, which exploded shortly after 1300 (1100 GMT), contained between one and two kilograms of explosives.
A roadside call-out association in the Basque country received a telephone warning from a man claiming to speak on behalf of ETA. Two hotels in the area were evacuated after the telephone warning. The explosion damaged two cars. Summit targeted The three car bombs on Friday exploded in the north-eastern city of Zaragoza, and the southern resorts of Marbella and Fuengirola. Six people were injured in Fuengirola, including three Britons, one of whom underwent surgery in hospital. Each of Friday's bombs contained about 30 kg (66 pounds) of explosives. ETA carried out similar attacks on tourist sites last summer. Tight security Although ETA does not normally claim responsibility for its actions until weeks afterwards, it typically times attacks to coincide with major political events. There was huge security at the Seville summit, with about 10,000 police deployed in the city. On Thursday, ETA accused the EU of leaving the Basques behind, complaining that a "Basque homeland has no place in the current Europe". ETA wants a state in the Basque areas of northern Spain and south-western France. |
See also: 21 Mar 02 | Europe 22 Jun 02 | UK 30 Apr 02 | Europe 04 Jun 02 | Europe 05 Jun 02 | Europe 21 Jun 02 | Europe Top Europe stories now: Links to more Europe stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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