Street gangs blamed for Basque station bomb

By Staff
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MADRID, Feb 5 (Reuters) A home-made bomb which ripped through a train station in Spain's Basque region today appears to have been the work of Basque independence street gangs, rather than armed separatists ETA, police said.

The explosion in Lutxana, which blew out doors and windows but injured no one, came from a device doused with petrol commonly used by street gangs, Basque police said in a statement.

The blast followed the arrest yesterday of 18 members of Basque independence gangs, Jarrai, Haika and Segi.

''Those responsible had to force the door (to the station), to put the device inside the building'', the police said.

Gangs that support ETA's fight for Basque independence have attacked police and set fire to buses, cars and cash machines in the Basque region despite an ETA ceasefire declared March 2006.

They have attacked Lutxana station on several occasions.

The size of today's explosion -- which left the station burning for over three hours and disrupted trains for thousands of passengers -- initially led regional officials to question whether the attack was the work of ETA.

ETA ended a nine-month ceasefire on December 30 by detonating a powerful car bomb at Madrid airport which killed two people.

Yesterday's arrests were ordered by Spain's Supreme Court, which ruled the gangs ''terrorist organisations'' linked to ETA.

It said the groups set out to commit crimes, disturb and terrify the local population and were part of the same movement headed by ETA, which has waged a 40-year campaign for Basque independence from Spain, killing more than 800 people.

Local mayor Tontxu Rodriguez condemned the station attack.

''This isn't the road to peace and freedom,'' he told state radio.

''This only manages to make the daily life of ordinary citizens difficult.'' REUTERS MS HS2137

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