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18 August 2008
MALAGA – Police evacuated beaches and streets in the province of Málaga Sunday after Basque terrorist group ETA planted three bombs in and near beach resorts popular with foreign tourists.
Two of the bombs, planted on a beach near the Tryp Guadalmar Hotel in the city of Málaga and close to a marina in nearby Benalmádena, exploded around lunchtime on Sunday causing limited damage and no injuries. The third device, hidden on the side of the MA-21 road leading to Málaga airport, was deactivated by police.
Authorities began cordoning off the sites of the bombs Sunday morning after Benalmádena fire department received a phone call in the name of ETA giving the location of the devices.
The Costa del Sol has been targeted in the past by ETA as part of a summer terror campaign aimed at damaging Spain’s tourism industry that the group has carried out with varying degrees of intensity since 1979.
At the end of July, the Basque group detonated bombs in Benalmádena and neighbouring Torremolinos, without causing injuries.
The attacks on Sunday came as Málaga celebrated its annual festival.
The city’s mayor, Francisco de la Torre, urged residents and visitors not to do "what the terrorists want" and instead to continue enjoying themselves.
[El Pais / Expatica]
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