Two men and one woman - all of whom are listed on the Spanish Civil guard's most wanted ETA figures - were picked up near the southern French city of Pau on Saturday for driving a stolen vehicle.

"The three presumably formed part of ETA's military command. We know they were one of the most active groups ETA had at this time, if not the most active," said Spanish interior minister, Alfredo Perez Rubacalba.

Asier Borrero, Lurgi Garitagoitia and Itziar Plaza had been on the run for up to 18 months, according to Spanish authorities. Plaza - allegedly a top figure of ETA's military wing - is accused of involvement in 20 armed attacks, Garitagoitia of shooting dead a city councillor last year and Borrero of bombing a police barracks, among other violent acts.

Saturday's arrests were the fourth strike against ETA in the past three weeks, in which a total of 18 suspected members of the terror group have been captured.

ETA, which is considered a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States, has been blamed for the deaths of more than 800 people in its decade-old fight for an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southern France.

nk/Reuters/AFP
Editor: Kateri Jochum