By Emma Ross-Thomas and Blanca Rodriguez
Madrid - Explosions hit two Spanish coastal cities on Thursday after a newspaper received a warning call in the name of armed Basque separatist group ETA, and at least one person was injured, officials said.
Santander and Gijon, about 130km apart on Spain's northern coast, are packed with holidaymakers at this time of year and the explosions appeared to fit into ETA's strategy of seeking to undermine Spain's key tourism industry.
A small bomb exploded in one of Santander's busiest streets, close to a major office of Spain's biggest bank, Santander Central Hispano (SCH), and near regional government offices.
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The bomb caused no injuries and only minor damage, officials said.
Almost simultaneously, another explosion occurred near a restaurant in Gijon, officials and news reports said.
It was not immediately confirmed that it was a bomb, but a police spokesperson said one person had been injured.
The Santander bomb had been left in a bag, according to the website of newspaper El Pais.
Police were searching the historic centre of Santander in case there were more bombs, a regional government spokesman said. "All of the centre... is cordoned off," he said.
"We are in high season. An event of this kind does not help tourism," he told Reuters.
An SCH spokesperson said the Santander bomb had exploded close to the bank's historic headquarters but had not damaged the building. "It was a small explosion, like fireworks," he said.
A spokesperson for the Basque regional police said a caller to Basque newspaper Gara had earlier warned that ETA had planted two bombs.
Officials said the Santander device appeared to be similar to two bombs that exploded in Spanish resorts last weekend and which were blamed on ETA. They caused no injuries and little damage.
Beaches at an eastern Spanish resort were evacuated briefly on Wednesday after what appeared to be a false bomb alert.
The rash of bomb alerts - days after the government warned ETA bombers may be aiming to strike at the tourism industry - has fuelled summer jitters in Spain.
ETA, which has killed 850 people since 1968 in a shooting and bombing campaign for an independent Basque state, regularly stages summer bombing campaigns in an attempt to undermine Spain's tourism industry which accounts for more than a tenth of its economy.
The group, branded a terrorist organisation by the European Union and the United States, has not carried out a fatal attack for more than a year.
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