Police evacuate Spanish race track over bomb threat

BILBAO, Spain, July 7 (Reuters) A horse racing track in Spain's Basque region was evacuated today after a bomb threat from people claiming to be Basque separatist rebels ETA but police said it appeared to be a false alarm.

An international steeplechase was called off and crowds cleared at the De Lasarte track in the city of San Sebastian as police searched for a possible bomb.

''Everything points to a false alarm,'' said a police spokesman.

Tension is high in the northern region after the ETA separatist group called off a cease-fire in June which had been in place since March 2006.

On Monday French anti-terrorist police arrested three suspected ETA members as they prepared to cross into Spain in a van packed with explosives.

Referring to the border incident Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo PDerez Rubalcaba said police had prevented an ''imminent attack'' by the separatist group which has been responsible for killing over 800 people in its four decade fight for an independent Basque state.

REUTERS SV PM1849