Spanish police arrested eight suspected members of armed separatist group Eta today, Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said, as arguments heated up over regional elections in the Basque Country.
The Socialist government has been criticised for going soft on Eta and Batasuna, a political party banned for its links to the separatists.
"The civil guard has been carrying out a major operation against the infrastructure of the terrorist group Eta. So far eight people have been arrested," Mr Rubalcaba said on state radio.
He said police were raiding more houses in the northern region of the Basque Country and neighbouring Navarre. Radio reported one of the people arrested was a known Eta member who had been on the run since 2005 and who holds a conviction for assaulting a policeman.
Two of the others were women and one was armed, media said.
The arrests came one day after a new Basque party called Abertzale Sozialisten Batasuna registered to run in regional elections called for May. Yesterday, the Spanish government said it would investigate whether ASB was a vehicle for Batasuna, outlawed for not renouncing violence.
The opposition Popular Party said it would fight to prevent Batasuna from running in the elections. Batasuna leader Arnaldo Otegi said last week that it would do everything possible to take part in the elections.
"A door is open for this country to end the political conflict and all its consequences once for all, by democratic means," Mr Otegi said today.