Policeman shot dead by suspected Eta militants

A policeman approaching a suspicious car was shot and killed at point-blank range yesterday by one of its two occupants, who were suspected of being Eta separatists heading into Madrid to stage an attack.

The shooting took place near a petrol station in the town of Villalba, 25 miles north-west of Madrid. Officials identified the dead officer as Antonio Molina, who was 27. Mr Molina's partner was wounded by gunfire and taken to hospital in a serious condition.

A suspect was also wounded in the shootout, while the other remained at large last night after he fled and commandeered a car at gunpoint, taking the female driver with him. He released her later.

Demolition experts from a squad that examines car bombs set off a small controlled explosion in the suspects' Ford Escort. This triggered a large blast from explosives rigged to make the vehicle a car bomb, the Interior Ministry said.

The pair had formed a commando unit of the armed Basque separatist group and apparently planned to carry out a bombing as early as today, the ministry said.

Angel Acebes, the Interior Minister, said that the two suspects were believed to have been responsible for the most recent attack blamed on the group, a car bombing in a parking lot in the northern city of Santander on 3 December.No one was injured.