27 February 2005

VILLAJOYOSA-ETA has bombed the private residence of employees of the Basque BBVA bank near Benidorm, in south-east Spain.

The attack took place at 3.15pm in Villajoyosa, a small village near the popular holiday resort of Benidorm.

There were no injuries, though the small caused damage to the gardens of the residence.

Forty-five minutes before the attack, an anonymous source called the Basque newspaper Gara to warn of the bombing.

This is the normal way in which ETA warns of bombings just before they take place.

The area was quickly cordoned off and the small bomb caused little damage, though disrupted traffic, which was stopped on a nearby road.

The BBVA owns the residence where employees go for a holiday between May and October. It was empty when the attack took place.

The latest attack, on Sunday afternoon, took place after a poll of Basque voters found most believed the Spanish government should negotiate with the terrorist organisation to bring an end to their campaign which has claimed more than 800 lives over 30 years.

José Antonio Alonso, the Minister of the Interior, said: "No attack will stop in any way the government's opposition to terrorist violence."

On 17 February, in Valencia, further north up Spain's Mediterranean coast, police arrested two ETA suspects Mikel Orbegozo and Sara Majarenas, who were preparing to set off a bomb to disrupt the EU Constitution referendum held three days later.

The last bomb attack blamed on ETA was on 9 February when 42 people were injured in a Madrid business park, hours before King Juan Carlos was due to visit the area.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news