ETA claims responsibility for Basque court blast

Tolosa: A bomb exploded outside a courthouse in Spain's northern Basque region on Saturday causing considerable damage but no injuries, police said.

The detonation in the town of Tolosa was preceded by a telephone warning to a regional road rescue service by a man who said he spoke on behalf of Basque separatist group ETA.

The caller said a bomb would explode by the court house at 1.15am on Saturday. Officers rushed to the scene where they found a rucksack and proceeded to cordon off the area, a police statement said. The rucksack exploded at the announced time and blew a large hole in the courthouse, breaking glass all around the building and damaging cars.

The bomb contained 5-10 kilograms of explosives, police said.

As an organisation, ETA normally does not claim responsibility for its attacks until weeks after they occur. On September 22, ETA used a large car bomb to kill sergeant major.

Luis Conde de la Cruz, 46, an off-duty soldier who was on vacation at an army seaside retreat in the northern city of Santona. That attack was the third powerful car bomb attack in Spain in a 24-hour period and signaled a new ETA offensive. It came days after the Spanish Supreme Court outlawed two Basque pro-independence parties on the ground that they were linked to ETA.

ETA has conducted a violent campaign, including shootings and bombings, since 1968 in an effort to create an independent Basque state in northern Spain and southwestern France.

ETA declared a ceasefire in March 2006, but reverted to violence in December of that year after peace talks with the government failed. The group is considered a terrorist organisation by Spain, the European Union and the United States.