By Arantza Goyoaga
BILBAO, Spain (Reuters) - A car bomb exploded in the northern city of Bilbao in Spain's Basque Country on Friday, killing a police officer in what authorities suspected was the first fatal attack by ETA rebels since December.
The bomb exploded at 9:05 a.m. (0705 GMT) in a car park in Bilbao's Santa Isabel neighborhood, Basque Country police said.
"There was an attack, a big explosion, that burned up the individual inside the car and damaged other vehicles nearby," the Basque Country regional government's Interior Minister Rodolfo Ares told reporters.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but such bombings have regularly been carried out by Basque guerrillas ETA, who have killed more than 800 people in decades of struggle for independence of the Basque Country.
Asked whether ETA was responsible, a police spokesman said: "It definitely looks like that."
Ares identified the victim as police officer Eduardo Puelles. The man's wife, who was not hurt, was attended to by emergency services after being overcome by emotion, radio reported.
A cloud of black smoke and flames poured from the car shortly after the attack, television images showed. Soon afterwards, police could be seen examining the remains of the car, which was left a twisted heap of metal.
ETA's last fatal attack was the gunning down of a Basque businessman last December, a long gap without victims for a group which has been hard hit by arrests of a string of its top leaders. In April, police arrested its suspected top commander Jurdan Martitegi, bringing to four the number of commanders caught in less than a year.
Analysts say that ETA is losing support for its violent methods, although polls indicate a majority of Basques may still want independence from Spain.
Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero broke off peace talks with ETA after the rebels killed two people with a car bomb at Madrid airport.
(Additional reporting by Vincent West, Blanca Rodriguez, Raquel Castillo and Emma Pinedo; Writing by Jason Webb)
Source: Reuters
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