Bomb attack citiesreturn to normal

13 August 2004

MADRID – The northern Spanish cities of Santander and Gijon were returning to normal on Friday after both were hit by from minor terrorist explosions the previous evening.

Only one person was injured, a 78-year-old man who was taken to hospital in Gijon with slight facial injuries.

The provinces chosen for the attacks were exactly the same ones as those targeted by terrorist group ETA the previous weekend.

The first bomb to explode was hidden in a tree in the central Paseo de Pereda avenue in Santander, just 200 metres from the popular Jardines de Pereda gardens.

While the remains of the damaged tree were cut down on Friday, workers went ahead with assembling stalls for the city’s antique book fair which is due to open on Saturday – a far different scene from the traffic chaos caused when central streets were closed off the previous evening.

In Gijon, a similarly small bomb device, weighing around 250 grammes and placed in a plastic container near a wall, exploded 10 minutes later near the San Lorenzo beach.

Anonymous phone calls were made to two newspapers, saying that the bombs would be exploded at about 6pm local time and gave the names of the streets, although not the cities.

The Ministry of Interior has called on people to keep calm and trust in the work of the anti-terrorist forces.

A spokesperson at Gijon city hall said the explosives used were the same as those in the bombs which went off in San Vicente de la Barquera in Cantabria province and Ribadesella in Asturias on Saturday.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news