Not all terrorists are Islamic. This is very good news for France and Spain. I visted Pau several times when working for Elf, and always had to wonder if these nasty characters would strike while I was there.
French anti-terrorist police have arrested a man described as the top military commander of the armed Basque separatist group ETA, dealing a massive blow to western Europe's most active guerrilla force.Posted by Alan at December 9, 2003 05:10 PMIn the second high-profile swoop in a week, Bordeaux detectives and officers of the national anti-terror squad arrested on Tuesday the man along with three other ETA suspects in a dawn raid in the village of Lons, west of Pau in southwest France. They later confiscated documents, weapons and a car.
Close cooperation between French and Spanish police has led to scores of arrests of senior ETA suspects in recent years. Before Tuesday's arrests, 175 suspected ETA members or collaborators had been detained this year.
ETA has killed nearly 850 people since 1968 in a bloody campaign for an independent Basque state in northern Spain and southwestern France. It is listed as a terrorist organisation by Spain, the United States and the European Union.
via Reuters
Profiles of ETA via Naval Postgraduate School and the Council on Foreign Relations