'We will fight on,' vows N17

A suspected member of November 17 is led from court

ATHENS, Greece -- The November 17 terror group in Greece has issued a statement saying it remains active despite a recent wave of high-profile arrests.

A Greek newspaper published on Wednesday what it said was an open letter from the group in which it vows to continue its 27-year campaign.

The statement, in the Eleftherotypia newspaper, said: "We have lost many comrades ... we have lost a large part of our 'family.'

"The future targets will have one more aim: The exchange of prisoners."

It admitted that some members of the group's "central body" were in custody, but said other "fighters" were ready to take their place.

EXTRA INFORMATION • Greece's deadly terror group  • Chronology: N17 terror attacks

"We are still alive," the statement added. "We learned from our mistakes and, fortunately, from the mistakes of the Greek police and we will go forward."

The statement also included a warning for prosecutors.

"We expect a clear and fair trial," the proclamation said. "Our next action could include prosecutors."

The newspaper, which in the past has received authentic claims of responsibility for some of the group's 23 murders, said an anonymous phone call directed staff to the location of the letter.

Police officials said they were checking the letter to see whether it was genuine or a hoax.

It came as the group's suspected leader and 10 members await trial on charges related to terror acts, including the murders of foreign diplomats.

The alleged mastermind of the N17 group, Alexandros Giotopoulos, denied all the charges against him at a court hearing on Tuesday.

Greek police announced the arrest of Giotopoulos, a university professor, last week, saying he was believed to be the organisation's mastermind as well as the author of the proclamations issued by the elusive terrorist group.

The group emerged in 1975 with the killing of CIA station chief Richard Welch. Its most recent victim was British defence attache Brigadier Stephen Saunders, who was shot dead in his car in June 2000.

November 17, named after the date in 1973 when a student revolt at Athens Polytechnic against the military junta then ruling Greece was savagely repressed, has also killed Turkish and U.S. diplomats and Greek industrialists, prosecutors, police and politicians.

It has also carried out scores of bank robberies and bomb attacks.