Eta, the outlawed Basque separatist group, yesterday detonated a small bomb in a Spanish coastal resort, its third attack this year. Police were warned of the device, planted near a stairwell in the Port Dénia Hotel, south of Valencia, and were able to evacuate about 160 guests. There were no reports of serious injury or major property damage.

Yesterday's attack came two days after French police detained three alleged members of Eta in what the Spanish government says is a further blow to the terrorist group. There are now about 700 Eta prisoners in Spanish and French jails, compared with about a suspected 70 active members at large. There have been no fatal attacks attributed to the group since May 2003. Last year's commuter train bombings by al-Qaeda created such repulsion that some Eta veterans have since appealed for younger members to lay down their arms. Mark Mulligan, Madrid