Policeman shot in Basque town

A policeman was shot twice in the Basque town of Tolosa tonight in what looked to be another attack by the separatist group ETA.

The off-duty officer was identified as Mikel Uribe, a member of the Basque police, the private news agency Europa Press said.

He was taken to a nearby hospital. The officer was dressed in civilian clothes, the Basque police said.

The shooting came hours after a bomb exploded this morning in the northern Spanish town of Leiza, killing a politician.

The farming town is about 20 miles north-west of the provincial capital Pamplona, where the San Fermin festival was concluding after a final run of the bulls.

The Navarra regional government identified the victim as Jose Javier Mugica, 50, a councillor for the Union of the People of Navarra, a centre-right party opposed to Basque separatism. Mugica also worked as a photographer.

The Basque region in northern Spain has been the scene of a wave of shootings and bombings in recent months.

ETA has claimed the killings of nearly 800 people since it began campaigning of Basque independence in 1968.