The most senior leader of the Basque separatist group ETA still at large was arrested Saturday in southwest France, Spanish authorities said. Mikel Irastorza was found in a home in the French town of Ascain, in the Pyrenees region bordering Spain, the interior ministry said in a statement. The couple housing Irastorza were also taken into custody, French sources said.
The Spanish statement said the raid, led by French security forces working with Spanish civil guards, was aimed at the "leadership structure of ETA". Irastorza was described by the ministry as "currently the most senior leader of the terrorist group ETA still at large". The Spanish ministry said other arrests could follow. ETA waged a violent campaign for decades for an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwestern France, and is blamed for the deaths of more than 800 people.
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