Basque Militants Suspected in Car Bombing

In a continuation of the decades-long struggle between the Spanish government and those calling for independence of the Basque territories, a car bomb went off near a Bilbao television station Wednesday. No one was injured in the blast, which authorities believe was set off by the ETA, a militant Basque independence group.

Reuters via the Financial Times:

A car bomb exploded in Spain’s Basque country near the headquarters of a local television station in the town of Bilbao on Wednesday without causing any injuries, a police spokesman said.

Police said emergency services had evacuated television station ETB, which broadcasts in Basque and Spanish, and surrounding buildings following a bomb warning in the name of separatist group ETA.

The explosion shattered the windows of the round, glass walled building.

Emergency services had found a suspicious vehicle after closing off the area and discovered the owner of the vehicle tied to a tree on a nearby mountain, police said.

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A Basque television crew caught the blast on tape, which happened just minutes after the surrounding buildings were evacuated.