Eta bombs Bilbao in advance of royal visit

Eta bombs Bilbao in advance of royal visit

Security was tightened in Bilbao yesterday after Basque separatists detonated explosives outside an office building a day before Spain's king and queen were due in the northern city to open the modernistic Guggenheim museum.

No one was injured in the blast, which did little damage to the apparent target - an employment office in the city centre. Eta (Basque Homeland and Freedom) guerrillas warned of the attack in a call to the radical nationalist Egin radio station, which in turn contacted police. On Monday this week Eta guerrillas shot and fatally wounded a policeman as he tried to question two men unloading flower pots from a suspicious van parked near the high-profile museum. The Guggenheim still plans to open on schedule despite the policeman's death and King Juan Carlos will still attend the inaugural ceremonies.