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| Key Eta leader 'held in France' | Key Eta leader 'held in France' |
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| One of the top leaders of the Basque separatist group Eta has been arrested in north-western France, the Spanish interior ministry has said. | One of the top leaders of the Basque separatist group Eta has been arrested in north-western France, the Spanish interior ministry has said. |
| Ibon Gogeascotxea was arrested with two other suspected Eta members in a joint French and Spanish operation. | Ibon Gogeascotxea was arrested with two other suspected Eta members in a joint French and Spanish operation. |
| A militant group fighting for an independent Basque homeland, Eta has been blamed for more than 820 deaths during its 41-year campaign in Spain. | |
| Eta called a short-lived truce in 2006, but broke it in December of that year. | Eta called a short-lived truce in 2006, but broke it in December of that year. |
| The Spanish interior ministry said Ibon Gogeascotxea was the "most senior" member of Eta and its military chief. | |
| The arrests took place in the small Normandy village Cahan. | |
| French and Spanish authorities have maintained close cooperation to try to track down Eta members. | |
| Four suspected members of Eta were arrested in Portugal and France in January. | |
| Three weeks ago Portuguese police also seized half a tonne of explosives at a house they said was being used as a base by Eta. | |
| Although there have been a number of arrests of leaders, Eta has remained active - the group killed three Spanish police officers using car bombs in 2009. | |
| In December, Spain raised its terror alert level to two on a four-point scale. |