Eta allies face ban after fatal car bomb

The Prime Minister of Spain threatened tough reprisals against Eta, the Basque separatist group, and its political allies, the Batasuna party, after a car bomb attack in a tourist resort near Alicante killed two people on Sunday night.

Jose Maria Aznar said yesterday: "They [Eta] will pay for what they have done. I hope they pay for it very soon."

He was speaking after meeting King Juan Carlos at the royal summer residence in Majorca. Mr Aznar cut short his holiday and headed for Santa Pola to accompany the families of the six-year-old girl who died in the blast, and of Cecilo Gallego, 57, who died while waiting at a bus stop near the police barracks where the 50kg bomb exploded. The funerals were to take place last night.

Mr Aznar warned that Batasuna might soon be banned, in accordance with a law passed in June. "I hope and wish that a request for the banning of Batasuna be made as soon as possible," he said. "I am not prepared to let the human garbage that are Batasuna members walk the streets with impunity while we Spaniards have to bury innocent victims, including children."

All political parties condemned the attack yesterday, except Batasuna. This is expected to provide the green light to ban Batasuna under the Parties Law, which outlaws any party supporting terrorism.

Angel Acebes, the Interior Minister, said: "This is the moment when the Parties Law must come into force, because anyone who fails to condemn such a brutal and savage assault ... is protecting terrorists." The courts must decide whether conditions exist for a ban, Mr Acebes said.

The attack was the first separatist killing since March and the first Eta action since a spate of five bombings in June.