Suspected Eta members detained in France

Spain’s Interior Minister said today two suspected members of the Basque separatist group Eta detained in France had a list that could indicate Eta’s potential targets, including sites associated with the Madrid 2012 Olympic bid.

Juan Antonio Alonso said among the documents seized from Peio Esquisabel Urtuzaga and Jose Manuel Ugartemendia, both detained near the southern city of Toulouse on Thursday, police found information about four sports complexes in Madrid, at least one of which is under construction, and two desalination plans near the southern city of Almeria.

However, Alonso said, the information was imprecise and could have been downloaded from the official website of the Madrid Olympic bid.

Esquisabel Urtuzaga, also known as Xerpa, is considered a senior member of Eta and the chief of the group’s international operations. He is considered to have been the right-hand man of Mikel Antxa, Eta’s longtime leader who was arrested last year in a major raid in France, and has been tipped as Antxa’s successor.

The two suspects were detained as they headed to a laundry to pick up a forgotten bag in which there was a gun with Eta’s snake and axe symbol, false identity papers, documents and some photos.

Eta has claimed or been blamed for more than 800 deaths since the late 1960s. More than 200 suspected Eta members have been arrested in the past two years and the group has not staged a fatal attack since it killed two policemen with a car bombing in the northern Spanish town of Sanguesa in May 2003.