Highlights
– Three car bombs target military, police and financial buildings in northern Spain
– Court ruling banning ETA linked groups may have prompted increase in attacks
– In the wake of political setbacks, ETA likely to continue selective car bomb attacks in the near-term
During a 24-hour period over the weekend, car bomb blasts rocked three towns in Spain’s northern Basque Country in what appears to be an increased offensive by the banned separatist group, Basque Motherland and Liberty (ETA). While ETA has yet to claim responsibility for the attacks, the bombings bear common characteristics found in the group’s four-decade separatist campaign. In two out of the three attacks, an alleged ETA member issued a phone warning to authorities ahead of the explosions, likely an attempt to avoid collateral damage and civilian casualties. However, the attacks left several civilians injured.
• In the northern town of Santona located in the autonomous Cantabria region, a car bomb exploded outside a military academy, killing an army captain and injuring an additional eight civilians. The Basque region’s road assistance service received an anonymous telephone call warning 35 minutes ahead of the explosion.
• In the northern Basque Country port town of Ondarroa, alleged ETA members hurled Molotov cocktails at a police station. As police exited the building, a car bomb exploded, severely damaging the front of the building and injuring at least 11 people including three police officers.
• An anonymous tip warned authorities in the Basque capital of Vitoria of the location of explosives in the area. Police were able to evacuate the area shortly before the car bomb detonated nearby an office of a Caja Vital bank, causing only structural damage to buildings and no injuries.
The attacks also reflect common ETA targeting preferences, as they have typically targeted government and police buildings, as well as financial institutions. The upsurge in violence is likely an attempt by the group to reassert its relevancy in the region, especially coming one week after a recent ruling by the Spanish Supreme Court banning two pro-independence parties for holding links to ETA.
Government officials vowed in June 2008 to expand the ranks of its intelligence services by 500 agents expressly to combat Islamist-based and ETA terrorism over the course of the next four years. However, we anticipate that in the face of recent political setbacks, ETA will continue to wage similar styled attacks in the near-term to remain in the public eye (Previous Report).
Political Setbacks
Spain’s Supreme Court recently declared two Basque nationalist parties illegal due to alleged links to ETA. Specifically, the court outlawed the Communist Party of the Basque Lands (PCTV), which has nine deputies in the 75-seat Basque regional parliament. The court also banned the Basque Nationalist Action (ANV), the region’s third-strongest party at the municipal level, as its 400 elected municipal councilors are responsible for managing more than 40 towns and villages.
• The bans follow a ruling by Spain’s Constitutional Court prohibiting an attempt by the Basque regional administration to hold a regional referendum on seeking greater autonomy from Spain. The Basque regional administration is expected to file a complaint at the European Court of Human Rights over the ruling.
According to the Supreme Court, the two Basque groups are alleged successors of Batasuna, the pro-ETA party that was banned in 2003. In a separate ruling, 21 people who had previously campaigned for hundreds of imprisoned ETA activists were found guilty of belonging to ETA and were given prison sentences ranging from 8-10 years.
Upsurge in Violence Likely to Continue
The death of the soldier in Santona marks the seventh death from ETA attacks since peace talks between the government and ETA broke down in December 2006. Since the talks ended, Spanish and French authorities have arrested dozens of ETA members and supporters including suspected ETA leader Francisco Javier Lopez Pena. The upsurge in attacks is likely an attempt to divert attention from these recent political and structural setbacks and reassert the group’s deadly attack capabilities into the public spotlight. We anticipate that, while ETA membership is only a fraction of its former size, its remaining members are likely to launch more attacks in northern Spain in the near-term, targeting mainly security facilities and personnel.
