A senior prosecutor was shot in the head yesterday in the southern Spanish city of Granada. Mr Luis Portero (59), the chief prosecutor of the Andalucian Supreme Court, was attacked by three gunmen who were waiting for him in the hall of his apartment building.
The terrorists fired three shots into the back of Mr Portero's head, causing irreparable brain damage, and ran into the busy city street outside. He was declared clinically dead on arrival in hospital. A security camera captured the image of the attack from which anti-terrorist forces believe they have identified at least one of the assassins, who is believed to be a member of ETA. One of the terrorists was detained. Shortly afterwards the presumed getaway car exploded in a tactic used frequently by ETA to destroy evidence.
The Minister for Justice, Mr Angel Acebes, was in no doubt the killing was the work of ETA which has increased its activity in Andalucia in recent weeks.
Three junior army officers in Seville had lucky escapes on Saturday when bombs placed in their cars were discovered before they caused any damage. In one case, an army veterinary surgeon had driven his car for two hours before he found a metal refrigerator box hidden beneath the passenger seat of his car. On hearing a suspicious click he decided to call in bomb-disposal experts.
In a similar incident, a second soldier became suspicious when he noticed the front passenger door of his car had been forced. In both cases bomb-disposal experts discovered the boxes contained 1 1/2 kilos of explosives and two detonators, both of which had failed. Another officer found a similar device in his car.
Tension continues to grow in the Basque Country following the narrow failure to overthrow the regional government in two votes of confidence brought by the opposition at the end of last week.