'Eta' bomb kills Spanish officer

Several passers-by were injured in the Santona blast

A third car bomb in 24 hours has hit northern Spain, killing an army officer and injuring several others.

Basque separatist group Eta gave a telephone warning before the latest blast, near a military academy in the town of Santona, in Cantabria region.

Earlier, three policemen were among 11 people injured in an explosion outside a police station in Ondarroa.

And another bomb exploded in the outskirts of the Basque regional capital Vitoria, but no-one was hurt.

Eta also gave a telephone warning before the Vitoria blast.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero condemned the bombings, saying that "Spanish society will never submit to the dictates of the criminal gang".

Correspondents say the attacks come at a time of increased turbulence in Basque politics.

Spain's Supreme Court recently declared two Basque nationalist parties illegal because of their links to Eta.

Campaign of violence

The Santona blast happened at about 0100 (2300 GMT Sunday), killing an army officer named as Brigadier Luis Conde de la Cruz.

"One person was killed and another hospitalised," said an official in the Cantabria governor's office.

Several passers-by were treated for minor injuries.

Santona officials condemned the blast, and Spain's defence visited the scene of the attack on Monday.

It came less than 24 hours after a car bomb exploded next to the headquarters of the Caja Vital Kutxa bank near Vitoria.

Another bomb went off outside a police station in the port town of Ondarroa, injuring three police officers and seven civilians.

Officials said two suspected bombers parked the car close to the outside wall of the station, threw a Molotov cocktail to attract attention, and then detonated about 100kg of explosives.

The explosion caused serious damage to the building and nearby cars, scattering debris 400m away.

Eta's four-decade campaign to set up an independent state straddling northern Spain and south-western France has led to more than 800 deaths.

Eta resumed its campaign of violence in December 2006, following the failure of secret dialogue with Spain's Socialist government.