Dozens of women and children escape Spanish barracks blast

DOZENS of women and children escaped a massive bomb attack by Spanish separatists ETA which destroyed a police barracks yesterday.

ETA gave no warning, leaving no time to evacuate the 14-storey family building in Burgos where around 120 people were sleeping, 40 of them children.

Most of the injuries were from flying glass, and 38 of the wounded were treated in hospital.

Officials said they were amazed no one was killed in the 4am car bomb blast, which blew off much of the barracks’ facade. Nearby homes had their windows and some walls blown in by the force of the explosion.

ETA has killed more than 825 people since it launched a campaign in 1968 for an independent homeland in the Basque region of northern Spain.

It was ETA’s eighth attack this year, further proof the militant group is still an active force despite major police crackdowns in Spain and France.

Spain’s government claims after each ETA arrest, including those of many leaders, that the group has been decapitated, but the attacks have continued.

Members of Spain’s paramilitary Civil Guard police force often live in barracks with their spouses and children.

The force is chiefly in charge of policing rural areas and guarding official buildings.