Spanish officer escapes bomb attempt
PAMPLONA, Spain -- A Spanish army officer escaped injury when an explosive device placed under the seat of his car malfunctioned, authorities said.
The officer alerted police after he heard an odd noise when he started his car's engine.
"A deputy lieutenant of the army called the police at 0735 (0645 GMT) and said he had noticed a small explosion after getting into his car," the spokeswoman for the Navarre regional government said.
She could not confirm the attack was the work of ETA, although the group typically targets military and political figures.
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Bomb disposal experts rushed to the scene in Cizur Mayor, an area on the outskirts of Pamplona, and carried out a controlled explosion of the device, apparently composed of half a kilogramme (one pound) of explosive, the Defence Ministry said.
The officer, identified as 2nd Lieutenant Jose Luis Diaz Pareja, was stationed at the same barracks as another officer who was shot dead as he parked in his garage near Pamplona on August 9.
ETA has claimed responsibility for that killing and 20 others -- and is blamed for two more -- since it ended a 14-month-old cease-fire in December 1999.
The group has been fighting since 1968 to create an independent Basque homeland straddling northern Spain and southwest France.
The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.
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