Suspected ETA military chief held in France (1st Lead)

May 20, 2010, 7:31 GMT

Madrid - French and Spanish police detained the suspected military leader of the militant Basque separatist group ETA in France early Thursday, Spanish police sources said.

Mikel Kabikoitz Carrera Sarobe alias 'Ata', 36, was held with two other suspects, a man and a woman, in a flat in Bayonne near the Spanish border.

The identity of Carrera Sarobe, who is suspected of direct involvement in the killings of five people, was still to be confirmed by fingerprints.

A fourth person, who was believed to be a collaborator of ETA, was also arrested in southern France, police said. Police searched several addresses.

Carrera Sarobe was thought to have headed ETA's military wing since its previous leader Ibon Gogeaskoetxea was captured in February.

The swoop was the sixth involving arrests of ETA leaders in two years. The group, which is held responsible for more than 820 killings since 1968, has become increasingly weakened by police crackdowns and loss of support.