[Ricardo Nunes]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtm ... ID=6992190

ETA Returns with Five Bombs in Madrid, No Injuries
Fri Dec 3, 2004 01:25 PM ET

By Emma Pinedo
MADRID (Reuters) - Bomb explosions hit five petrol stations in the Madrid area on Friday after a telephoned warning from armed Basque separatist group ETA, police said.

The blasts caused no injuries as the bombs were small and the areas had been evacuated in time, a police spokesman said.

The blasts came as hundreds of thousands of Madrid residents were pouring out of town for a long bank holiday.

Spain's traffic department said four major roads out of Madrid were blocked. "We recommend not leaving Madrid for now if it is not strictly necessary," a spokesman for the department said.

The explosions mark a significant return to violence for ETA, which has been relatively inactive since the March 11 train bombings -- carried out by Islamic militants -- killed 191 people in Madrid.

The outlawed group, branded as terrorist by Spain, the United States and the European Union, also has been weakened by an intense police crackdown that has rounded up more than 100 ETA suspects this year, including its top leadership.

ETA has killed nearly 850 people since 1968 in a bombing and shooting campaign for an independent Basque state in northern Spain and southwestern France.

A phone call in the name of ETA earlier warned the bombs had been placed in the Madrid area and were set to explode at 1730 GMT, Basque newspaper Gara reported on its Web site on Friday.

ETA regularly uses Gara to announce impending attacks.

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