ETA bomb targets electricity substation

A small bomb exploded at a hydroelectric substation today after a warning call in the name of the Basque group ETA, Spanish police said. The blast caused no injuries and little damage.

The blast occurred about 8am local time (7am Irish time) at a plant outside the northern city of Tarazona, a police spokesman said. He said police were still searching the area for further devices.

The spokesman said the plant had not been used for some time.

Police were tipped off to the blast following a warning telephone call in ETA’s name to traffic authorities in the northern Basque region.

ETA frequently targets power stations and regularly makes warning calls to the Basque traffic department.

It was the second explosion claimed by the organisation in four days. On Saturday, a car bomb exploded in an industrial area of the central province of Avila causing damage to three warehouses.

ETA has killed more than 800 people in a campaign for Basque independence since 1968. In recent months it has set off a series of small devices, but its last lethal attack was in May 2003, when it killed two police officers.

Authorities says the group has been decimated by arrests in Spain and France leading to much speculation that it may call a cease-fire.

However, today’s blast came as the radical Basque daily newspaper GARA published the latest communiqué from ETA in which it criticised political parties but made no mention of an end to the violence.