World News joined 2

[OMEN]

French police have arrested the top military commander of Basque separatist group ETA in southwest France, Spanish state television reported.

It said Francisco Javier Lopez Pena and three other ETA members were arrested in a raid in the French city of Bordeaux.

ETA has killed more than 800 people in four decades in its fight for independence for the Basque Country in northern Spain and southern France.

Polls show most Basques do not seem to want independence, although the leader of Spain's Basque regional government Juan Jose Ibarretxe is defying the Spanish government with plans to hold a referendum on whether to begin a debate on ties with Spain.

More than 750 suspected ETA members have been arrested since 2000, and the group is believed to have been seriously weakened

Reuters

[JohnCenaFan28]

Thanks for the story.