'ETA bomb' kills two

The blast wrecked a local councillor's car as he drove by

A car bomb blamed on the Basque separatist group ETA has killed two people and wounded four others in the northern Spanish city of San Sebastian.

A hospital statement said two local men had died of their injuries shortly after the explosion.

It is essential that we all stand together for peace and freedom and against the blind violence of ETA

Regional assembly leader Jose Ibarrexte

A local councillor, thought to have been the target of the attack, was injured, as was his bodyguard. Two others are in a critical condition.

Hours later reports from south-west France said police had arrested a man thought to be a senior figure in ETA's military hierarchy.

Xavier Garcia Gaztelou (also known as Txapot), was detained in the French Basque town of Anglet, near the Spanish border.

Police said the San Sebastian blast bore all the hallmarks of an attack by ETA, which has frequently used car bombs in its 32-year campaign for Basque independence.

The remote-controlled device containing nearly 6kg (13 pounds) of explosives went off in the city's Martutene suburb just before 8am local time (0700 GMT).

Emergency teams raced to the scene

Reports later said one of the men killed had been identified as a member of the hardline pro-independence party, Euskal Herritarrok, which is often called ETA's political wing

Opposition Socialist Party town councillor Ignacio Dubreyl Churruca - who was driving by on his way to work - is however thought to have been the intended target.

Elections

The blast sparked outraged protests shortly afterwards outside town halls around the country.

"It is essential that we all stand together for peace and freedom and against the blind violence of ETA," said Regional assembly leader Jose Ibarrexte.

ETA has been blamed for one killing so far this year, and two dozen since it ended a 14-month ceasefire in December 1999.

About 800 people have been killed since the campaign began.

The coastal city of San Sebastian is one of the hotbeds of ETA support.

Thursday's explosion came just two days after the Basque government called an early election in the region.

Polls show the nationalists could be defeated by the governing Popular Party if it can agree a pact with the Socialists.