Group protesting Iraq war hurls grenade at British Consulate in Ecuador

The attackers, who threw the grenade from a passing car late Sunday night, claimed responsibility in e-mail messages that condemned the United States and Britain for attacking Iraq, Police Gen. Edgar Vaca said.

The messages identified the group as the little-known People's Revolutionary Militias.

The explosion shattered windows on the ground floor of the building, but did not damage the consulate offices on the third floor, Vaca said.

Since August, the otherwise silent group has exploded small bombs here three times — most recently last week — and once in the capital, Quito, some 170 miles (270 kilometers) to the northeast.

In prior attacks, the group had scattered flyers urging Ecuadoreans not to vote in elections last year and later criticizing President Lucio Gutierrez, who took office on Jan. 15, for launching economic austerity measures.

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