Car Bomb and Rockets Injure Nine in Madrid

A car bomb and explosions from rockets fired at the Defense Ministry shook the Spanish capital today, injuring at least nine people and filling the streets with smoke, police said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but police said they suspected ETA, the Basque separatist group fighting for autonomy in northern Spain.

Government spokesman Manuel Moles said 12 rockets were fired at the Ministry of Defense. Six struck the facade, two hit parked cars, three exploded against walls with the shrapnel from one hitting a passing bus, and the 12th was fired but did not explode, Moles said.

One of the injured was Vice Adm. Carlos Vila Miranda, deputy director of personnel in the Ministry of Defense, who was hit by flying debris when a rocket struck his office, Moles said.

Fired by Remote Control

No details were available immediately on the identities of the other injured people. It also was not known whether they were injured by the car bomb or the rockets.

Moles said the rockets were fired by remote control about one-quarter mile across the Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid’s main north-south artery.

Police spokesman Daniel Herrero said the rockets apparently were aimed at the fourth-floor office of Defense Minister Narcis Serra.

The car carrying the rockets, a sedan, caught fire and exploded at 10:28 a.m., police said.

2nd Explosion a Trap

About 15 minutes later, a car bomb exploded near the wrecked sedan, police said. Both cars were parked in Manuel de Falla Street in an affluent neighborhood in northern Madrid.

Moles said the second explosion was believed intended to injure police officers who gathered to investigate the rocket blasts.

Police cut off streets and prohibited access to the area for fear of further blasts.

A week ago, 10 members of the paramilitary civil guard were killed when a car bomb exploded in the same area of northern Madrid. The device, set off by remote control, exploded as a bus carrying at least 40 civil guard trainees passed by.