(Adds government, Batasuna) By Andrew Hay MADRID, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Two Spanish police were injured by a bomb in the Basque region early on Friday in what police said was the first bombing by ETA separatist guerrillas since they ended a ceasefire in June. The huge bomb, containing 80-100 kg (175-220 lb) of explosives, was placed in a stolen van parked outside a police barracks in the central Basque Country town of Durango. The blast at about 3.30 a.m. (0130 GMT) caused considerable damage to the building and neighbouring houses. The two officers were hit by flying glass, a police spokesman said. "This could have been a bloodbath," the head of Spain's Civil Guard police force, Joan Mesquida, told reporters. He said the bomb was planted by an ETA squad of more than one guerrilla. There was no prior warning of the attack nor any immediate claim of responsibility. The central government's representative in the Basque Country, Paulino Luesma, said the families and children of police also lived in the barracks. "That makes the attack even more detestable," he said. A second vehicle, with Portuguese licence plates and believed by police to have been used by the bombers to flee the attack in Durango, exploded in the town of Amorebieta about an hour later. FAILED PEACE EFFORTS For weeks Spain's Socialist government has warned of an imminent ETA attack after the arrests of members of the guerrilla group and the capture of explosives. "We all knew ETA wanted to attack at any moment," Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega told a news conference, "We will continue working to make sure all terrorists end up in jail, sooner or later." Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero attempted peace talks with ETA last year, despite fierce opposition criticism, but called them off after the rebels bombed Madrid Airport in December, killing two people. Ending peace talks seems to have largely defused the Basque struggle as a national political issue ahead of general elections due by next March, although analysts suspect the guerrillas might try a big attack before the vote. ETA's banned political ally Batasuna ignored calls to condemn the new attack. "The government has opted for armed conflict," spokesman Pernando Barrena told state news agency EFE. ETA said on June 5 it was calling off a 15-month-old ceasefire, although it had already effectively broken it with the airport bombing. ETA guerrillas have killed more than 800 people in a four-decade campaign for independence for Basque areas in northern Spain and southern France. Opinion polls show most inhabitants of Spain's Basque region, which already enjoys considerable autonomy, do not want full separation from Madrid. (Additional reporting by Blanca Rodriguez and Jason Webb)
