Bilbao - Basque police yesterday defused a booby-trapped car which they suspect was used as a getaway vehicle by gunmen who shot dead two police officers in the northern Spanish city of Beasain.
The Ertzaintza, the regional Basque police force, said officers deactivated a device wired to a stolen white Peugeot 405 near the spot where two of its officers were killed on Friday as they directed traffic. The shootings have been blamed on the Basque separatist group ETA. Policewoman Ms Ana Arostegi (34) died at the scene of the attack and her male colleague, Mr Javier Mijangos (32), died in hospital in the town of Tolosa after being shot in the neck.