18 people injured as ETA explodes bombs in seven Spanish cities

SMALL bombs exploded yesterday in seven cities around Spain after telephone warnings from callers claiming to speak on behalf of the armed Basque separatist group ETA, the Interior Ministry said.

At least 18 people were slightly injured in the nearly simultaneous blasts in Valladolid, Leon and Santillana del Mar in the north, Avila and Ciudad Real in central Spain, Alicante in the east, and Malaga in the south.

The blasts followed two telephone warnings to the Basque newspaper, Gara, from callers claiming to represent ETA that said bombs had been placed in seven cities throughout Spain.

Before the blasts, the Interior Ministry had said the seven sites targeted mainly streets and plazas had been evacuated and cordoned off. In at least two instances, however, the explosions struck in places other than where the callers had indicated.

Such was the case of Santillana del Mar, a popular tourist town on Spain's northern coast, where 15 people were hurt by flying shards of glass or chunks of wood when an explosion destroyed a tourist information booth in a park.

One Basque analyst said the blasts small and apparently calculated to avoid loss of life showed the political constraints ETA faces after the Madrid terror bombings by suspected Muslim militants, and the ensuing nationwide revulsion over terrorism, even among Basque nationalists who back ETA's goal if not its methods. "ETA wants to sow fear. It wants to draw attention, but cannot afford to kill people. That's why they set off bombs the size of a bar of chocolate," said former ETA member Teo Uriarte, who now leads an association working for peace in the region.

Analysts in the Basque region say the group is deeply divided among newer, young members eager to keep fighting and older leaders more inclined to negotiate an end to the conflict or simply give up.

Batasuna, a banned party seen as ETA's political wing, last month proposed a formula for peace talks with the government, raising hopes that ETA might be prepared to end its armed struggle. Days later, ETA pledged to continue attacks against security forces.