Spain: ETA Bombings on Beaches; Police Dismantle Top Terrorist Cell

No Comments | July 23rd, 2008 | Trackback

Four bombings claimed by the Basque militant group ETA hit tourist beaches in northern Spain July 20, causing one injury and no deaths. The bombings occurred in Loredo and Noja, halfway between Santander and Bilbao. Poor weather kept most tourists off the beaches that day. The incidents follow ETA’s pattern of attacking tourist areas more as a way to make a political statement than to try to cause maximum damage. Two days later, Spanish police broke up what they called ETA’s most active cell with the arrest of nine suspects. Authorities believe this cell is responsible for as many as 90 percent of ETA’s attacks since the group resumed its campaign of violence in 2007. They are looking into connections between the cell and the bombings in Loredo and Noja. In another serious blow to ETA, the group’s presumed leader was detained in France in May.