AP News, August 26th, 2007
Militant Basque separatists may have established an operational base in Portugal from which they planned a recent bomb attack, Spain's Interior Minister said Sunday.
Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, speaking on state broadcaster RNE, said there was evidence the group ETA had acquired vehicles in Portugal that were used Friday in a terror attack in the Basque city of Durango. The attack injured two Spanish police officers, destroyed cars and shattered windows.
"There is a possibility that ETA might have a small infrastructure in southern Portugal, probably in the Algarve," Rubalcaba said.
A van packed with an estimated 180-220 pounds of explosives blew up outside Durango's police station, and a second car with Portuguese license plates was used by suspected separatists to flee.
It was the second time Spanish officials have unearthed a suspected link with Portugal, which separatists may be using as an alternative to France, where they have been targeted in recent years.
In June, an abandoned car holding explosive material and a bomb-making manual in the Basque language was found on a road near the town of Ayamonte, near the border with Portugal. Police said the car had been rented in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, and likely was abandoned after its driver was alerted to a police checkpoint ahead.
Spanish anti-terrorism experts are to visit Portugal on Monday to investigate the latest bombing and share information with Portuguese counterparts to determine whether there were ETA operations in Portugal.
Spain and Portugal may soon sign an anti-terrorist accord to expand cooperation, Rubalcaba said.
Portugal's Internal Administration Ministry was actively investigating if an ETA cell might have been infiltrated into the country, said Paula Mascarenhas, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman.
ETA has often used France as a base, and on Saturday a backpack filled with explosives was found in Souraide _ near the Spanish border in the French Basque country _ which could have been linked to the armed separatist group, French police officials said.
French police have successfully arrested and deported several ETA members in recent years, part of a hardline anti-terror policy that is likely to continue under newly elected President Nicolas Sarkozy. Sarkozy visited the French Basque region last week in part to talk with anti-terrorism officials.
With attention focused on the border area with France, Portugal may provide a less obvious outpost for ETA.
Since 1968, ETA has been accused of killing more than 800 people, primarily Spanish security force members. The group wants to carve out an independent homeland from parts of northern Spain and southwest France.
