An army officer in northern Spain escaped unhurt on today when a bomb planted under his car failed to explode.
The attack in the town of Zizur Mayor near Pamplona, capital of the Navarre region, bore the hallmarks of the Basque separatist group ETA, which has waged a campaign of bombings and assassinations in its three-decade-long fight for independence.
A sub-lieutenant of the army called the police and said he had noticed a small detonation after getting into his car, a spokeswoman for the Navarre regional government said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but ETA has often targeted military and political figures.
Navarre borders the Basque Country and is part of the region ETA wants to claim to set up an independent Basque state straddling the borders of Spain and France.
ETA admitted to 23 assassinations in 2000, its bloodiest year since 1992, with 26. The group called off a 14-month ceasefire in December 1999.
Reuters