Madrid - A French mercenary who claims to have worked as a hired assassin for the Spanish government has threatened to reveal the full workings of the "dirty war" launched against Basque separatists in the 1980s.
Jean Philippe Labade was questioned at a court in Madrid this week after claiming he was paid by Spanish antiterrorist police to kill two Basque separatists living in France. His evidence could reveal the facts behind a campaign of bombing, shooting and kidnapping carried out by the Anti-Terrorist Liberation Group (GAL) which claimed 23 victims in the 1980s.