Eta Launch Summer Campaign

(13 June 2005)

The militant Basque separatist group Eta is thought to have been behind a bomb blast close to Spain’s Zaragoza airport on Friday. The Basque newspaper Gara received a telephone warning about the attack and the airport had already been evacuated prior to the blast. There were no reported injuries and it is unclear how close to the main airport the homemade mortars actually landed. Flights were diverted whilst security forces carried out a thorough check of the premises and perimeter fences. Some sections of the Spanish community have been angered by the government’s statement that it will hold negotiations with Eta if the group renounces violence and lays down its weapons. Up to 250,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Madrid in protest against giving any concessions to the terrorist group. Authorities fear that this attack could be the start of a campaign to disrupt the country’s main tourist season.