Prosecutor 'clinically dead' after Eta ambush

The chief prosecutor in Andalucia was declared clinically dead after he was shot through the head yesterday at his front door in Granada, in an ambush attributed to the Basque separatists Eta.

The chief prosecutor in Andalucia was declared clinically dead after he was shot through the head yesterday at his front door in Granada, in an ambush attributed to the Basque separatists Eta.

The attack on Luis Portero, 59, suggests Eta remains fully operative, despite recent successes by security forces. A car bomb exploded near by later, taken to be Eta's usual method of destroying its getaway car.

Three armed men attacked Mr Portero in the hallway of his town centre home as he returned to lunch from the regional High Court. He had left his bodyguard at the court.

Mr Portero was in a coma and on life support yesterday afternoon. Doctors said he was "clinically dead", having suffered irreversible injuries.

Andalucian police have foiled three car-bomb attacks in three days in Seville, defusing explosives hidden in military vehicles. The most recent, yesterday morning, was discovered when a soldier noticed a door had been forced.

The Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, who was visiting Rome, sent condolences to Mr Portero's family. He insisted on the need to maintain the security offensive. Demonstrations have been called for today to protest against the attack, which brought to 14 the deaths attributed to Eta this year.