Ten people were slightly wounded this afternoon when a car bomb exploded outside a police station in the coastal town of Ondarroa in Spain's Basque Country, Basque regional official Javier Balza said.
"There is no doubt that the aim was to kill as many people as possible," Balza told journalists at the location of the blast.
Three police officers were among those hurt after the large bomb went off about 4.30 am.
The other seven were passers by. None of those hurt was in serious condition although the bomb badly damaged nearby buildings.
The bombers parked near the police station entrance before activating the device, a police spokesman told Reuters.
"They threw a Molotov cocktail to get the police officers attention and make sure they had them right in target," he said.
Balza said the car had 100 kilos of explosives packed in its in its boot.
About four hours before the Ondarroa blast, another big car bomb exploded near the office of Caja Vital bank in the Basque Country capital of Vitoria but no one was hurt, police said.
Police had cordoned off the area in Vitoria before the first explosion after receiving a warning call in the name of Basque rebels ETA but there was no call before the second blast.
ETA has killed more than 800 people in four decades of armed struggle for traditional Basque lands in northern Spain and southwestern France.
The attacks were carried out just days before the regional government was due to lodge a complaint at the European Court of Human Rights about Spanish authorities refusal to let them hold a referendum-style vote on the Basque Country's future.
The Basque Country, which has its own distinct language and culture, already has considerable autonomy over areas such as health and education.