Spanish police defuse car bomb

Police cordoned off the area during their search

Spanish police have defused a powerful car bomb in the northern city of Bilbao after an anonymous caller - claiming to be from the Basque separatist group ETA - gave a warning to a local newspaper.

The bomb - comprised of 30 kilos (50 lbs) of explosives packed inside a pressure cooker and wired to a timer - was inside a car parked near the city's San Mames soccer stadium and a finance ministry building, a police spokesman said.

The thwarted attack comes as many town halls in the Basque region swore in new councillors.

It also comes as street protests have been held by supporters of the now banned pro-Basque independence party Batasuna, which the Spanish Government has linked to ETA.

Last month ETA claimed responsibility for the deaths of two police officers, who died when a bomb exploded underneath their car in the town of Sanguesa in Navarra.

'Terror' group

The councils were elected on 25 May, when more than 1,000 candidates, described as members of Batasuna, were barred from running.

Thousands marched in Bilbao in protest at the ban.

Batasuna was banned in Spain on the grounds that it is part of the "terrorist network" of ETA - a charge Batasuna members vehemently deny.

In May the United States added Batasuna to its list of terrorist groups.

The decision, which makes the group liable to sanctions in the US, came after pressure from Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.