The Spanish government today linked youth supporters of Basque separatist group ETA with a booby-trapped toy car which killed a Basque woman and blinded her 16-month-old grandson, causing outrage around Spain.
The toy, which exploded in the city of San Sebastian yesterday, may have been dumped by supporters of a political party close to ETA during a rally on Saturday before ending up in the hands of the victims, Interior Minister Mr Mariano Rajoy said.
Evidence from the Interior Ministry suggests this was a classic example of 'kale borroka', Mr Rajoy told reporters, referring to the Basque-language name for a long-running, organised campaign of street violence waged by young ETA supporters.
The Spanish government says the street violence is part of a wider campaign by ETA to terrorise Basque society.
The injured child remained in a very serious condition after a nine-hour operation yesterday and was on a life support machine, a hospital in San Sebastian said in a statement.
Madrid's blaming of the separatist movement contrasted with comments by the Basque regional government, headed by the Basque Nationalist Party, which said it did not believe ETA or its youth supporters were behind the blast.
Basque security officials said there was no clear target as the device was left in a toilet in a bar on Saturday.
