Madrid car bomb injures 8

2005-05-25 14:35

Madrid - A car bomb planted by suspected Basque terrorists injured eight people on Wednesday in northern Madrid, said officials in the Spanish capital.

An anonymous caller speaking in the name of the underground separatist group, ETA, had warned the Basque newspaper Gara that the bomb was about to go off, giving police time to cordon off the area.

The bomb was placed in a bag inside a stolen van parked near a subway entrance at Alcala Street, one of Madrid's main arteries.

It exploded just as police were evacuating a nearby building.

Those injured included a watchman and an employee at a car dealer. No serious injuries were reported.

ETA 'to lay down arms and dissolve'

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said that the goal of the government was to finish with terrorism and that ETA's only possible destiny was to lay down arms and dissolve.

The bombing followed several minor bomb blasts for the past few weeks, including one which caused no injuries in the Basque region last week-end. Another bomb was defused.

Some analysts believe that ETA was interested in negotiating with the government, which had agreed to talk only if the group laid down arms.

Opposition conservative spokesperson Pio Garcia Escudero said Wednesday's bombing "does not look like wanting to negotiate, but more like an attempt at pressure".

ETA had killed more than 800 people in its campaign for a sovereign Basque state carved out of northern Spain and southern France since 1968.

- SAPA