Eta 'detonated van loaded with explosives'

A van that exploded in north-eastern Spain was detonated by members of the Basque separatist group Eta when they realised police were on their trail, Spain’s Interior Ministry said today.

Eta had planned to use the van in an attack but were thwarted when police in the town of Les Coves de Vinroma became suspicious, said an Interior Ministry spokesman.

He said the van had been stolen by alleged Eta members who, feeling cornered by police, blew the van up yesterday in an olive grove on the outskirts of town. No one was hurt.

“The car was going to be used very soon,” the spokesman said. “It had a large quantity of explosives.”

The target of the planned bombing was unknown, he said.

The owners of the van, Spanish nationals who were on holiday in the area, had been kidnapped on Friday and were released today in France.

On Friday, a van packed with explosives blew up in Spain’s northern Basque region outside a police station, destroying cars, shattering windows and slightly injuring two policemen. Authorities said it was Eta’s first serious attack since it called off a cease-fire in June.

Also today, Spanish anti-terrorism experts were to visit Portugal to investigate the latest bombing and share information with Portuguese counterparts. They want to determine whether Eta has set up bases in southern Portugal.

Eta, a Basque-language acronym for Basque Homeland and Freedom, has been waging a campaign for an independent Basque state for nearly 40 years.