Eta terror duo blown up by their own bomb

Two suspected members of the Basque terrorist group Eta died last night during what was thought to have been a bungled bomb attack in the northern Spanish city of Bilbao.

Two suspected members of the Basque terrorist group Eta died last night during what was thought to have been a bungled bomb attack in the northern Spanish city of Bilbao.

The bomb went off in or underneath a parked Ford Fiesta in the Basurto district on the outskirts of the port city just before 10pm GMT, according to a spokesman for the regional Basque Interior Ministry.

The spokesman said investigators were working to identify the remains of one or two people killed in the blast. No other injuries were immediately reported.

Police believe the explosion may have been a bombing attempt that went awry, with the intended perpetrators blowing themselves up.

Fragments of a pistol were found on the scene and Spanish radio said detonators and other bomb-making materials were also discovered.

Although there was no claim of responsibility, police were working on the hypothesis that the explosion was the work of the Basque group Eta.

ETA has killed more than 800 people and injured some 2,300 others since 1968 in its campaign for an independent Basque homeland.

Last week Spain announced the arrest of what it described as two top ETA leaders in southern France.