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MADRID - Ibiza airport was evacuated on Saturday, after a bomb warning upset the start of the peak holiday season on the Mediterranean island, Spanish police said.
Local media said the Interior Ministry had stepped in to deny earlier reports of a controlled explosion at the airport. Police, government and airport officials were unavailable for immediate official comment on the media reports.
Police evacuated the airport after Basque newspaper Gara, used by the armed separatist guerrillas ETA to distribute information, received a telephoned warning of a bomb, Gara said on its website. But the caller did not say who they represented, which is usually the case with ETA.
Ibiza has long been a magnet for thousands of British and German holidaymakers and flights were diverted from the airport.
Basque rebels said on June 5 they were calling off a 15-month-old ceasefire, which the group had already effectively broken by bombing Madrid airport in December.
In the past, ETA has frequently targeted holiday resorts and last week police found a car packed with explosives near seaside resorts on Spain's southern coast.
Spain's Socialist government attempted peace talks with ETA last year but called them off after the Madrid bomb, which killed two people.
Armed separatists have killed more than 800 people in four decades of armed struggle for independence of ancient Basque territories in northern Spain and southern France.
Polls show most inhabitants of the Basque Country, which already enjoys considerable autonomy, do not want full separation from Spain.
- REUTERS
