ETA Attacks

[jimmy olsen]

What do our resident Spaniards have to say about this?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32217800/ns/world_news-europe/

2nd bomb found on Spanish island after blast
2 police officers killed in explosion blamed on ETA on Mallorca

AP
updated 3:36 p.m. ET, Thurs., July 30, 2009
MADRID - A powerful bomb on the Spanish resort island of Mallorca killed two police officers in their patrol vehicle Thursday, the second attack blamed on Basque separatist group ETA in two days.

Police found a second bomb under another police jeep later Thursday in the same area and carried out a controlled explosion. Authorities temporarily blocked all outgoing flights and ships from leaving Mallorca as part of a manhunt.

That attack was the second blamed on ETA in less than 36 hours. A powerful car bomb Wednesday destroyed a police barracks in the northern Spanish city of Burgos, injuring about 60 people.

If confirmed as ETA attacks, the blasts would conflict with government assertions that the group is seriously weakened after major police crackdowns in Spain and France in recent years.

The 50th anniversary of ETA's founding is Friday and the group may be trying to demonstrate with attacks on the two consecutive days before the milestone that it was not in any danger of breaking up.

The officers killed Thursday were aged 27 and 28. They belonged to the paramilitary Civil Guard, which is chiefly in charge of policing rural areas and guarding official buildings.

Television images showed the charred and mangled remains of a vehicle that had been parked on a street in the Palmanova beach resort area, southwest of the island's capital, Palma de Mallorca.

The blast was caused by a bomb attached to the underneath of the vehicle, Interior Ministry official Ramon Socias said. Police believe the attack was carried out by an ETA cell that came to the island specifically to carry it out and was not based there, he said.

The island's airport and ports were closed shortly after 4 p.m. (1400 GMT, 10 a.m. EDT) and reopened just under two hours later, police said.

Height of summer season
Mallorca, with its golden sandy beaches, mild Mediterranean climate and crystal clear waters is one of Europe's main tourist destinations and the explosion occurred at the height of the summer holiday season.

In June, about 2.6 million passengers used Mallorca airport while last year more than 22 million passed through it.

Most of the tourists come from Britain and Germany and tour operators said they were trying to make contact with them. A spokeswoman for British travel organization ABTA said there were an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Britons on the island Thursday.

The officers killed Thursday were aged 27 and 28. They belonged to the paramilitary Civil Guard, which is chiefly in charge of policing rural areas and guarding official buildings.

Television images showed the charred and mangled remains of a vehicle that had been parked on a street in the Palmanova beach resort area, southwest of the island's capital, Palma de Mallorca.

The blast was caused by a bomb attached to the underneath of the vehicle, Interior Ministry official Ramon Socias said. Police believe the attack was carried out by an ETA cell that came to the island specifically to carry it out and was not based there, he said.

The blast occurred shortly before 2 p.m. (1200 GMT, 8 a.m. EDT). The ministry said several people were injured but none was in serious condition.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will fly to the island later Thursday.

Nine attacks this year
ETA is now blamed for nine attacks this year. The group has killed more than 825 people since it launched its violent campaign in 1968 for an independent homeland in Basque region of northern Spain. The group was founded July 31, 1959.

There were no warning calls before either attack and no group had claimed responsibility.

In Wednesday's attack, there were around 120 people in the 14-story barracks and surrounding buildings, a third of them children, at the time of the early morning blast.

The van had false license plates and had probably been stolen in France, officials said.

El Mundo newspaper recently reported that Spanish authorities had received intelligence reports that three vans had been prepared as car bombs and were expected to cross into Spain from France. One of the vehicles mentioned was a Mercedes Vito, the same model that was used in Wednesday's attack, leading to speculation there might be two van bombs still ready to be used.

Spain has vowed to crush the separatist group since ETA ended what it had said was a permanent cease-fire with a bombing that destroyed a Madrid airport parking garage and killed two people in 2006.

[The Brain]

ETA is 50 today? Congrats!

[Jaron]

Congratulations to Iorm and Alatriste on this day

[The Larch]

What do our resident Spaniards have to say about this?

That, sadly, it was to be expected sooner or later. After the earlier Burgos attack failed, this might have been their plan B. Everytime ETA is put on a corner, something like this happens, and I guess that the anniversary was symbolic.

[Alatriste]

What do our resident Spaniards have to say about this?

Not much, the least said about these publicity stunts the better. Yeah, ETA has fallen so low that the only thing they seek is remembering everone they still exist... as in 'Hey, look, the news talk abouts us, we are IMPORTANT!!!!'

The one thing I really want to comment is this:

Spain has vowed to crush the separatist group...

Utter bullshit. Separatist groups are 100% legal; ETA is a terrorist group.

[The Brain]

Utter bullshit. Separatist groups are 100% legal; ETA is a terrorist group.

You know who else was a "terrorist"? The Lord Jesus Christ.

[Neil]

Utter bullshit. Separatist groups are 100% legal; ETA is a terrorist group.

And Spain surrenders to terrorist groups.  Thus, ETA is mad that they haven't been surrendered to yet.

[Josquius]

Free the Basques!!!111

But targeting a tourist area? What are they thinking? Thats quite a good way to make enemies abroad.

[Richard Hakluyt]

It's also a good way to damage business, you destroy a lot of bucks for your bang.

[Alatriste]

Utter bullshit. Separatist groups are 100% legal; ETA is a terrorist group.

And Spain surrenders to terrorist groups.  Thus, ETA is mad that they haven't been surrendered to yet.

Keep sayin' that, hon. I don't like changing my opinions about people.

@Tyr

They try to do that every year. Never worked, never will... it's about one gazillion times more probable to get yourself killed in a traffic accident. What the hell, it's far more probable to get yourself killed by a booze overdose, a sun's stroke or a mosquito's bite.

[Lettow77]

Well, this doesnt really further the cause of Basque independence. Good luck to them with that, though.

[KRonn]

Sad, and angering, to see attacks like this. Good luck to the Spanish in dealing with this group and this kind of thinking. I guess the separatist group has been weakened, with all the pressure and arrests on them over the recent past? Or not, since they can still do this kind of thing?

[Strix]

Utter bullshit. Separatist groups are 100% legal; ETA is a terrorist group.

You know who else was a "terrorist"? The Lord Jesus Christ.

And killing him over it didn't work out so well.

[Neil]

Utter bullshit. Separatist groups are 100% legal; ETA is a terrorist group.

You know who else was a "terrorist"? The Lord Jesus Christ.

And killing him over it didn't work out so well.

Sure it did.

[Valmy]

And killing him over it didn't work out so well.

It only redeemed all of humanity forever.  I would say the Sanhedrin and the Romans deserve our gratitude.  If Jesus had died of old age we would all be screwed.