Spanish Bombs PORTUGALETE, Spain (AP) - A bomb hidden in a supermarket cart exploded Thursday in this northern Basque city, injuring a town councilor and her bodyguard as they walked by. Police said the attack bore the hallmarks of the armed Basque separatist group ETA.
Police said three others, including a pregnant woman, were slightly injured.
Esther Cabezudo, a member of the Socialist Party, and her bodyguard both suffered cuts and partial hearing loss and were temporarily hospitalized, hospital officials said.
Basque regional Interior Minister Javier Balza said the explosive device, hidden in the cart on the street, was triggered as Cabezudo and her bodyguard passed beside it.
Socialist leader maimed in Eta car-bomb attack By Elizabeth Nash in Madrid 20 February 2002 A Basque Socialist Youth leader was seriously injured when a bomb exploded in his car as he drove to work in the town of Sestao, near Bilbao, yesterday.
English: Alhondiga building in Bilbao (Basque Coun...
Bilbao demographic evolution (1900–2005).
English: Bankinter branch in Bilbao (Basque Countr...Eduardo Madina, 27, who worked at a training centre for the unemployed was taken to hospital after the blast and had his left leg amputated after hours of surgery.
The attack, attributed to the separatist group Eta, is the most serious this year and coincided with a meeting in Madrid of socialist and government leaders that is aimed at strengthening a cross-party pact against terrorism.
Jose Rodriguez Zapatero, the Socialist Party leader, abandoned the meeting to head for Bilbao to offer condolences to the family. Protesters gathered in Bilbao last night to reject terrorist violence. A Socialist Youth spokesman said: "This proves that we are all possible victims of Eta assassins." Copyright 2002 The Financial Times Limited Financial Times (London) March 8, 2002, Friday London Edition 1 SECTION: EUROPE; Pg. 8 LENGTH: 688 words HEADLINE: Barcelona braced for attacks from Eta: A recent spate of bomb blasts...