Josu Ternera: Leader of Eta Basque rebels arrested in France after 17 years on run

Spain accuses 69-year-old of taking part in 1987 bombing that killed 11

Josu Ternera in 2002. He has been a fugitive for 17 years (EPA/ALFREDO ALDAI)

A long-time chief of the Basque separatist militant group Eta has been arrested in the French Alps, Spain‘s Interior Ministry said.

Authorities had been looking for Jose Antonio Urruticoetxea Bengoetxea, known by the alias Josu Ternera, since 2002. The 69-year-old is accused of crimes against humanity.

In a statement, the ministry says that Spanish Civil Guard and French intelligence services arrested Ternera early on Thursday in Sallanches, a town of 16,000 in eastern France’s Alps region.

Spanish authorities have accused Ternera of taking part in a 1987 bombing of a Civil Guard police barracks in the city of Zaragoza that killed 11 people and injured five children of Civil Guard officers.

Acting Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez welcomed his arrest: ”Franco-Spanish cooperation once again demonstrated its effectiveness,” he said.

ETA, whose initials stand for “Euskadi ta Askatasuna” or “Basque Homeland and Freedom” in the Basque language, killed more than 850 people during its violent campaign to create an independent state in northern Spain and southern France.

The militant group gave up its arms in 2017 and disbanded one year ago, bringing Western Europe’s last major armed insurgency to a close.