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France 'arrests three ETA chiefs'By CNN Madrid Bureau Chief Al Goodman  Harriet Aguirre said by Alonso to be the head of ETA commandos. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSMADRID, Spain (CNN) -- French police have arrested three "chiefs" of the Basque separatist group ETA, including the suspected head of ETA commandos, according to Spanish Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso. "It's really an important operation against the leadership of ETA's military wing, which is the most dangerous part," Alonso said in Madrid at a nationally-televised news conference. The arrests on Monday come amid intense speculation about a potential ETA cease-fire, which would raise hopes for an end to the 36-year campaign of violence in which ETA is blamed for more than 800 deaths. One suspect arrested was Harriet Aguirre, a man whom Alonso said was the head of ETA commandos and the second-ranking leader of ETA's so-called military wing, involved in planning and carrying out attacks. ETA also has a so-called political wing, involved in setting policy toward ETA's goal of an independent Basque homeland. Aguirre, born in 1979, has been involved with ETA for a decade and is wanted for an attack against the deputy mayor of a Basque town, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. A second suspect arrested was identified as Idoia Mendizabal, born in 1977, wanted by police for her participation in a 2002 attack against a Basque politician, and for separate attacks against three Basque journalists. She has been part of ETA for eight years, the Ministry statement said. The third suspect was not immediately identified. Alonso said Spanish police would be sending fingerprint information and other data to the French police to help determine the suspect's identity. The arrests occurred at 6 a.m. Monday (0400 GMT) in an apartment in the French town of Aurillac, near Clermont-Ferrand. A search of the home and a garage turned up a grenade launcher, six guns, a vehicle, electronic material that can be used in vehicle theft, and "abundant documentation that is being analyzed," the Ministry statement said. France, long a rear guard staging ground for ETA just across the border from Spain, has witnessed increasing pressure against the group in recent years as Spain and France boosted their cooperation to arrest dozens of ETA suspects there. ETA, whose initials in the Basque language stand for Basque Homeland and Freedom, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, which includes Spain. Last summer, Spain's socialist government won backing in Parliament to hold talks with the group if it first renounces violence and agrees to lay down its arms. ETA's most recent attack in Spain was a small bomb that exploded last Tuesday at a small hydroelectric station in northern Spain, causing some damage to the facility, but no injuries. A warning call in the name of ETA led authorities to the site of the blast. 
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