A councillor with Spain's ruling Popular Party was killed on Friday when a bomb exploded under his car in the Basque region of Spain.

Jose Ignacio Irureta Goiena, 34, died from injuries he received when the device exploded beneath his car in the town of Zarauz.

No-one has claimed responsibility yet but the killing carries all the hallmarks of the Basque separatist group ETA (Euskadi ta Azkatasuna).

The BBC's Joanne Episcopo reports from Spain on the latest ETA assassination (1' 47")

The bomb went off as Irureta Goiena, who was married with two children, drove away.

Irureta Goiena's arm and leg were blown off in the explosion and he died despite a 30-minute fight by paramedics to save his life.

Zarauz, in Guipuzcoa province, is a stronghold of Basque separatism.

If ETA is found to be responsible it would be the fourth Popular Party politician to be killed by the group in recent years.

In December, Jose Maria Caso was killed, and last summer thousands of anti-ETA protesters protested on the streets following the murder of Miguel Angel Blanco.

The killing of Miguel Angel Blanco was a watershed

But there have also been rallies, organised by ETA's political wing Herri Batasuna, in support of Basque independence.

Herri Batasuna politicians have refused to condemn the ETA campaign of political assassination.

ETA has killed nearly 800 people since it began fighting for Basque independence in 1968.

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