ETA suspects arrested in France

cnn

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Police arrested two suspected members of the Basque separatist group ETA in southern France Tuesday, the Spanish Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The arrests were the first such detentions since a car bomb exploded at a Madrid airport parking garage on December 30, killing two people and ending a nine-month ETA cease-fire.

One of the suspects, Asier Larrinaga Rodriguez, had been sought in connection with a car bomb seized in Spain's northern Basque country last week, as well as a nearby ETA weapons hideout discovered December 23, the statement said.

French and Spanish police were working to identity the second suspect.

Both suspects were arrested near the southern French town of Ascain, the statement said.

The separatist group had promised its cease-fire -- declared March 22 -- would be "permanent," raising hopes for an end to nearly 40 years of ETA violence blamed for more than 800 deaths and thousands of injuries. ETA wants an independent Basque homeland.

The car bombing at Madrid's airport killed two Ecuadorean immigrants, caused slight injuries to about 20 others and severely damaged the parking garage.

Following the attack, the government said the fledgling peace process was finished.