Spanish police today deactivated a bomb placed by Basque separatists ETA outside a court house in a northern seaside town.
Police found the bomb after emergency services received a call early this morning warning that ETA had placed the bomb in Getxo near Bilbao.
The device failed to detonate after it was left inside a backpack at the court house door, allowing a bomb disposal team to move in and deactivate it, a lcoal government official said.
"This was 5kgs of explosives packed inside a pressure cooker, it was an attempt at a serious attack," said Basque government justice minister Joseba Azkarraga, adding that he had no doubt it was the work of ETA.
The bombing attempt follows a car bombing of a Basque Socialist politician's bodyguard in October.
A large car bomb placed by ETA failed to explode near a Defence Ministry office in the northern Spanish city of Logrono in September.
ETA and its supporters have been hit by a series of arrests in past weeks.
The group has vowed to keep up bomb attacks against the Spanish state, saying there is no point in negotiating with the Socialist government.
The government broke off an attempt at peace talks last year and ETA declared an end to a ceasefire in June.
Polls show most Basques do not want independence from Spain, the cause for which ETA has killed more than 800 people.