PARIS - ETA suspects shot and killed a Spanish Guardia Civil policeman in France on Saturday, French police said, the Basque separatist group's first killing since it abandoned a ceasefire in June.
A second Guardia Civil was seriously injured in the shooting in the French resort of Capbreton, 20 km (12 miles) from the southern city of Biarritz.
The two plain-clothed officers were taking part in a surveillance operation with French police when they were shot at point blank range as they were getting into their cars around 0830 GMT, a police source told Reuters.
Police were hunting two men and a woman who fled the scene.
The killing was the first by ETA since it called off a 15-month-old ceasefire on June 5 -- which it had effectively already broken by bombing Madrid airport last December.
Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba confirmed that one of the policemen had been killed and the other seriously wounded and said they had been shot as they left a restaurant.
"Since ETA broke the ceasefire, they continue to want to kill," Rubalcaba said at a meeting of EU interior ministers near Potsdam, Germany. "They achieved that today. Prison awaits them. They will be relentlessly pursued using all available means."
French Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said ETA was trying to use France as a refuge and a base to prepare attacks. Every effort was being made to catch the culprits, she added.
ETA has killed more than 800 people in four decades of armed struggle for independence for ancient Basque territories in northern Spain and southern France.
Polls show most inhabitants of Spain's Basque Country, which already enjoys considerable autonomy, do not want full separation from Spain.
Spain's ruling Socialist party said it had cancelled a political rally due to be held in Madrid later on Saturday. The Spanish government said Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero had rung opposition leader Mariano Rajoy to tell him of the attack.
French anti-terrorist investigators are to launch a formal investigation into the shooting, police said.
-
Evangelical vicar accused of abuse won't stand trial
-
Christians protest LGBT nativity play where Jesus is 'King of the Gays'
-
Sarah Mullally reiterates apology as safeguarding record comes under the spotlight
-
The mystery of the Wise Men
-
The origins of ‘traditional’ Christmas celebrations
-
Pro-life campaigner who silently prayed in abortion clinic buffer zone criminally charged
Most Popular
News
The first Christmas song to be sung in churches
Every Christmas, people sing the song “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night”. Unlike many other songs and carols that include elements of non-biblical tradition and myth, this song is pure Scripture. It was the first Christmas song authorised to be sung in the Church of England. This is the story …
The story of the Christmas Truce of 1914
On Christmas Eve in 1914, many men were in the trenches fighting the war, but the spirit of Christmas halted the conflict for a brief period. This is the story …
Report highlights injustices experienced by Christians in the Holy Land
Jerusalem Church leaders have released a report detailing the struggles and challenges currently faced be Christians living in the Holy Land.
Have you lost the wonder of Christmas?
For you who have been followers of Jesus Christ for a long time, maybe the pain and suffering of this world and the darkness you have had to live through this past year has gotten you down to the point of complete and utter discouragement. But all is not lost.