By DPA,
Palma de Majorca (Spain): Suspected militants of the armed Basque separatist group ETA Thursday targeted the Spanish tourist island of Majorca during the high holiday season, killing two police officers in a bomb blast.
Police sources confirmed that two officers of the paramilitary Civil Guard were killed and several people were injured in the blast.
The two victims were believed to have been inside a car which exploded in Palmanova on the western coast, one of the most popular tourism sites on Majorca, where hotels were full at the time.
The bombing was the second attributed to ETA within a little more than 24 hours.
A bomb had been attached to the underside of a police patrol vehicle, according to unconfirmed reports.
The explosion occurred near a police building, a post office, a firefighters’ station and a hotel.
The Spanish royal family traditionally spends its summer holidays on Majorca. The attack occurred just before King Juan Carlos was due to arrive on the island Saturday, the Zarzuela royal palace told DPA.
The only members of the royal family who could have been on Majorca Thursday were princesses Elena and Cristina, but that could not be confirmed, the sources said.
The explosion followed a car bombing staged by suspected ETA militants, who targeted a police barracks in the northern city of Burgos Wednesday. The attack caused injuries to about 60 people.
The attack on Majorca occurred one day before ETA marks its 50th anniversary Friday. It also coincided with the 18th anniversary of two other attacks which injured several people on Majorca in 1991.
ETA, which is listed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union and the United States, has killed about 850 people in its campaign for a sovereign Basque state.