Spanish terror suspects arrested

PARIS, France -- French police have arrested seven suspected members of a Spanish extreme left movement including the man believed to be its leader.

Spain hailed the swoop as a major breakthrough in the battle against the radical GRAPO -- First of October Anti-fascist Resistance Group -- saying it was a triumph of French-Spanish cooperation.

The group was founded in 1975, three days after the regime of General Francisco Franco executed five far-left opponents, and has been blamed for 82 deaths.

"The central command has been dismantled," Spanish Interior Minister Jaime Mayor Oreja said from Madrid. "I want to congratulate Spanish-French co-operation which has once more proved its effectiveness and its capability to obtain results."

MESSAGE BOARD Terrorism in Spain

The group was especially active in the early years of Spain's transition to democracy in the late 1970s, when it carried out dozens of murders in its bid to create a Marxist state.

It has recently launched sporadic small bomb attacks and robbery attempts, targeting the headquarters of Spain's ruling Popular Party in Madrid in September and killing two Spanish security guards in a botched heist in May.

A police spokesman in Paris said the GRAPO suspects had been under surveillance for several days following a tip-off from Spanish authorities.

The seven, all Spanish nationals, were picked up in and around the French capital.

Among those taken into custody were Manuel Perez Martinez, considered the group's leader, Jose Felipe Lopez, suspected of directing GRAPO's central command operations, and Fernando Silva Sande, seen as the head of its military network.

A French police source said officers had found 70 detonators, a remote control explosive device, false papers and a considerable amount of cash when they moved in on the seven.

French police in September arrested the suspected chief of the Basque separatist group ETA, Ignacio Gracia Arregui, as Paris and Madrid stepped up their cross-border anti-terrorism co-operation.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Federation of American Scientists: Information on GRAPO
Spanish Government

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