Two policemen were among three people killed in a car bomb blast in northern Spain today that bore the hallmarks of the Basque terror group ETA.
The blast occurred around 12.25 p.m. (11.25 Irish time) in a plaza in Sanguesa in Navarra province, the capital of which is Pamplona.
The explosion came five days after local elections in which hundreds of pro-independence candidates allegedly linked to ETA's political wing were barred from running.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility or word on who was behind the bombing.
Navarra borders the troubled Basque region and is home to many Basque nationalists. Sanguesa is 20 miles south-east of Pamplona.
Prime Minister Mr Jose Maria Aznar called off a trip to St Petersburg where he was to have taken part in a summit between Russia and the European Union.
The last attack blamed on ETA was the February shooting of Mr Joseba Pagazaurtundua, police chief in the Basque town of Andoiain, home to many supporters of the banned Basque party Batasuna.
AFP