Spain: Spain says Basque separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) head captured in France
ETA leader Mikel Irastorza has been arrested in a joint Spanish-French operation. The Basque separatist group’s ranks have been diminished by arrests despite a ceasefire.
A security operation conducted by French and Spanish authorities led to the arrest of the leader of the Basque militant group ETA on Saturday, Spain’s Interior Ministry said.
The ministry described Mikel Irastorza as “currently the most senior leader of the terrorist group ETA still at large.” He was arrested in a house in the southwestern French village of Ascain, near the Pyrenees Mountains.
Two other people housing the fugitive were also detained in the operation, which authorities said was still ongoing and could yield further arrests.
The ETA was formed in the late 1950s and carried out its first killing in 1968 as part of an armed campaign for Basque independence in northern Spain and southwestern France.