SPAIN: Guardia Civil yesterday arrested five suspected ETA terrorists in raids in Pamplona, San Sebastian and Irun writes Jane Walker in Madrid.
Interior Minister Mr José Antonio Alonso described them as "recent recruits to ETA, waiting instructions to act" but confirmed that one had a record for incidents of street violence. Aimar Allarza was jailed in 1997 for arson after setting fire to a car belonging to a member of the Basque police force.
The latest detentions are part of a continuing anti-ETA operation which began in south-west France at the weekend and resulted in 21 arrests including those of ETA's leader Mikel Albizu, alias Mikel Antza, and his second in command Soledad Iparragirre alias Anbota.
The operation found almost a tonne of explosives, ammunition, pistols, submachine guns, grenades and rocket launchers in arms dumps and half a dozen safe houses close to the Spanish border.
French police also discovered two Russian-made ground-to-air missiles which the Spanish interior ministry believes ETA acquired during the truce of September 1998 to December 1999. This is the first time ETA has been found to have weapons of this category.