Eleven more suspected members of ETA were arrested in France at the weekend, in the third phase of what appears to be a well-co-ordinated - and long awaited - counter-offensive to the Basque separatist group's escalating terrorist campaign over the summer.
Those detained include Mr Jose Luis Turillas Aranceta, said by the Spanish police to be ETA's quartermaster, and Mr Angel Picabea Ugalde, accused of organising the movement of arms and explosives across the Franco-Spanish border. Two other detainees are said to be bomb-making experts, and another is alleged to be in charge of forging documents. All the arrests were made in the French Basque Country. Explosives were seized in a raid in the more northerly Landes region.
The French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, and the Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, both welcomed the arrests as confirmation of efficient collaboration between French and Spanish security forces. A veteran ETA leader, Mr Ignacio Gracia Arregui, had been detained in France on Friday. In all, 16 suspects have been arrested there since last week. Last Wednesday, 20 members of ETA's political wing were picked up in the Spanish Basque Country. The Spanish police claimed that these detentions had dismantled ETA's political structure, a claim greeted with scepticism in some well-informed quarters, but confirmed in others.
Coupled with the weekend's arrests, there is no doubt that ETA has suffered a serious short-term reverse, though its longer-term impact cannot easily be assessed.
A senior member of Herri Batasuna, the political party closest to ETA, who did not wish to be named, told The Irish Times last night: "This has obviously been important in terms of the numbers arrested, but I do not know any more than that."
The Spanish Interior Minister, Mr Jaime Mayor Oreja, who has advocated a police strategy rather than political negotiation with ETA, took a more cautious line yesterday than his Prime Minister, Mr Jose Maria Aznar, who spoke of winning the war against ETA before too long.
"This is an important operation against ETA. It has dismantled part of the military structure and all of the logistical apparatus," Mr Mayor Oreja said. "We still have to remain prudent knowing that we are facing an organisation that can regenerate any part of its structure, but we realise we have taken a step forward."
The need for prudence was illustrated by another find on Saturday. Eight grenades were discovered inside a high security area at an outdoor gallery in the Basque Country, shortly before a high-profile visit by King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia, the Spanish Prime Minister and the German Chancellor, Dr Gerhard Schroder.