MADRID – French police arrested four members of Basque separatist group Eta late on Thursday night, including two military leaders, Spain’s interior ministry said yesterday.
Police identified Alejandro Zobaran Arriola, known as Xarla, and Mikel Oroz Torrea, alias Peru, as leaders of the group’s military operations.
They were arrested with Urko Labaca Larrea and Ivan Saez de Jauregui in the small northeastern French town of Willencourt.
The operation began last month after a tip-off from a resident of the town who was suspicious about the group’s nocturnal outings.
The case was passed to anti-terrorist police after it was confirmed that the car the group was using had false number plates.
French police said two firearms were found along with other fake documentation in the house they were renting.
Eta declared a permanent ceasefire in January, a move rejected by the government because it said it did not go far enough. Since then police have arrested 32 suspected members of the armed group.
Eta has killed more than 850 people in 50 years of struggle for an independent Basque state in northern Spain and southwest France. – (Reuters)