A car bomb exploded in the outskirts of Madrid injuring 42 people, hours before Spanish leaders and the Mexican President were due to open an Art exhibition nearby.
The bomb, containing between 20 and 30 kilos of explosives, blew up shortly after 9:30 a.m. this morning near a Madrid convention centre Campo de las Naciones.
The Basque newspaper Garasaid it received a call 40 minutes before the explosion saying ETA had placed a bomb in the area.
Dispite police cordoning off the area 42 people were injured, including six police. Most of the injured worked in the nearby French computer manufacturer Bull.
Officials said 24 people have been taken to hospital suffering from minor injuries.
Police said the white Renault 19 used in the attack was stolen from Guadalajara, a nearby village, yesterday and was parked between 7.30 a.m. and 8 a.m. at the Don Juan de Borbon plaza this morning.
This afternoon King Juan Carlos and the Mexican President Vicente Fox were due to open the Arco art exhibition only 500 metres away.
The Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodríguez Zapatero condemned the attack.
"I would like to say to the terrorists of ETA and those who support them that there is no place for them in politics or civil society, bombs lead only to prison," Mr Zapatero said during a visit to Warsaw.
