|
Last Updated: Oct 28th, 2008 - 17:57:18 |
MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish police arrested eight alleged ETA members on Tuesday in dawn raids that dismantled the Basque separatists' most active guerrilla unit blamed for several recent killings, the government said.
The Interior Ministry said Arkaitz Goikoetxea, alleged leader of the "Vizcaya cell", was among those captured. "Eight people have been arrested, among them Goikoetxea," a spokesman said.
The Vizcaya unit is accused of killing 3 civil guard police officers and a Socialist party councillor since ETA called off a ceasefire in June 2007.
Spain's Socialist government says the guerrillas, considered a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States, have been severely weakened by a string of high profile arrests.
That has not stopped ETA (Euskadi ta Askatasuna or Basque Homeland and Freedom) staging more than a dozen attacks and two killings this year.
"This is a special morning because today we feel a little bit more free because several terrorists have been arrested," said Rodolfo Ares, a leader of the Basque Socialist Party.
Police staged raids in Bilbao, Getxo and Elorrio in the Vizcaya region of the Basque country during the early hours of Tuesday, Spanish media reported.
The operation was supervised by judge Baltasar Garzon, known for handling Spain's highest profile ETA and civil rights cases, media said.
Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba was due to make a statement on the operation at 12 p.m. British time.
ETA declared a ceasefire in March 2006, raising hopes for an end to the group's four-decade campaign for an independent Basque state that has killed more than 800 people in shootings and bombings.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero broke off peace talks after the group killed two people in an attack on Madrid airport in December 2006. ETA officially ended its ceasefire in June last year.
Police secured the final information they needed to carry out Tuesday's raids after the explosion of four small bombs in Cantabrian holiday resorts in northern Spain on Sunday, media reported.
The attacks on Laredo and Noja, in which no one was hurt, marked the beginning of ETA's traditional summer bombing campaign in Spain's key tourist areas.
Top of Page
Post an instant comment or a suggestion to the above article or news
Note: You can use the above link to form a new discussion forum, place your opinion and discuss events, politics, articles, environment, fashion, health, internet, search engines, marketing, movies, music, religion and any other topic.
Submit Articles
Author Login
