Basques Blamed in Officer’s Killing
A Spanish police inspector was gunned down Thursday as security forces braced for a possible new wave of violence by Basque separatist rebels.
The killing, apparently by the Basque guerrilla group ETA, came hours after police went on nationwide alert to prepare for possible attacks by the rebels, who have called for a “Day of Struggle” today.
Police Inspector Luis Andres Sanpedio was shot in the head outside his home in the northern Basque city of Bilbao by a lone gunman who fled by car.
ETA, which has often targeted security forces in its 29-year campaign for an independent Basque homeland, has been blamed for 11 small bomb blasts in the past week.
The group is fighting for an independent Basque region in northern Spain and southern France. The struggle has killed about 800 people since 1968.
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