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Eta responsible for police deaths | Eta responsible for police deaths |
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The Basque separatist group, Eta, has claimed responsibility for a series of recent bombings in Spain, including one which killed two Civil Guards in July. | The Basque separatist group, Eta, has claimed responsibility for a series of recent bombings in Spain, including one which killed two Civil Guards in July. |
In a statement sent to the Basque newspaper, Gara, Eta said it was also behind a car bomb attack which killed a police inspector two months ago. | In a statement sent to the Basque newspaper, Gara, Eta said it was also behind a car bomb attack which killed a police inspector two months ago. |
It said the policeman, Eduardo Puelles Garcia, was a "despicable torturer". | It said the policeman, Eduardo Puelles Garcia, was a "despicable torturer". |
Eta has been blamed for more than 820 deaths during its campaign for an independent Basque homeland in Spain. | Eta has been blamed for more than 820 deaths during its campaign for an independent Basque homeland in Spain. |
The most recent bombings, on the island of Majorca and the northern town of Burgos, came ahead of the 50th anniversary of its founding. | The most recent bombings, on the island of Majorca and the northern town of Burgos, came ahead of the 50th anniversary of its founding. |
'Political solution' | 'Political solution' |
The two Civil Guards who were killed in the Majorcan resort town of Palmanova on 30 July, Diego Salva and Carlos Saenz de Tejada, had been inside a patrol car parked outside their barracks when a bomb planted underneath it exploded. | The two Civil Guards who were killed in the Majorcan resort town of Palmanova on 30 July, Diego Salva and Carlos Saenz de Tejada, had been inside a patrol car parked outside their barracks when a bomb planted underneath it exploded. |
Several people were also injured by the powerful blast on the busy road, which sent the vehicle flying through the air and set it on fire. | Several people were also injured by the powerful blast on the busy road, which sent the vehicle flying through the air and set it on fire. |
The attack was the deadliest since two Spanish undercover policemen were shot during an operation in France in December 2007. | The attack was the deadliest since two Spanish undercover policemen were shot during an operation in France in December 2007. |
Sometimes, as the most experienced and despicable torturer in the commissariat... he also pressured independence activists into collaborating by threats Alleged Eta statement Eta's anniversary calling card | Sometimes, as the most experienced and despicable torturer in the commissariat... he also pressured independence activists into collaborating by threats Alleged Eta statement Eta's anniversary calling card |
Although Eta did not claim responsibility for the Majorca blast at the time, Spain's government said it bore the hallmarks of the separatists. | |
Experts say a similar method was used in Eta's fatal bombing in June, when Mr Puelles Garcia was killed by a car bomb in Bilbao. | |
Eta said Mr Puelles Garcia had been "the chief of police operations against numerous leftist independence activists and against pro-independence youths for the past decade, and the co-ordinator of different operations against Eta". | Eta said Mr Puelles Garcia had been "the chief of police operations against numerous leftist independence activists and against pro-independence youths for the past decade, and the co-ordinator of different operations against Eta". |
"Sometimes, as the most experienced and despicable torturer in the commissariat... he also pressured independence activists into collaborating by threats," it said. | "Sometimes, as the most experienced and despicable torturer in the commissariat... he also pressured independence activists into collaborating by threats," it said. |
Eta also claimed responsibility for the car bomb which exploded outside a police barracks in Burgos on 29 July, injuring 40 people, and an attack on the offices of the governing Socialist Party in the Basque town of Durango on 10 July. | Eta also claimed responsibility for the car bomb which exploded outside a police barracks in Burgos on 29 July, injuring 40 people, and an attack on the offices of the governing Socialist Party in the Basque town of Durango on 10 July. |
But the group insisted that it was not seeking "to impose any project, unlike successive Spanish leaders". | But the group insisted that it was not seeking "to impose any project, unlike successive Spanish leaders". |
"It is Eta, which has over the long decades sought dialogue and political solutions," the statement added. | "It is Eta, which has over the long decades sought dialogue and political solutions," the statement added. |
The Socialist Party-led Spanish government declared the peace process "finished" after a bomb planted by Eta killed two Ecuadorean men at a Madrid airport car park in December 2006. | The Socialist Party-led Spanish government declared the peace process "finished" after a bomb planted by Eta killed two Ecuadorean men at a Madrid airport car park in December 2006. |