Spain arrests ETA suspects, seizes explosives

Spanish police arrested two suspected members of the armed Basque separatist group ETA in Valencia yesterday, seizing explosives that they planned to use for imminent attacks, the government said.

The operation in the Mediterranean city came hours after authorities published purported letters from ETA's alleged leader in which he ordered operatives to "start killing people as soon as possible".

"Spanish police have arrested two people in Valencia, a man and a woman, who are suspected members of ETA. They have seized a pistol... explosives and documents," Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso told reporters during a visit to Morocco.

The ministry named the detainees as Mikel Orbegozo Etxarri, born in 1969, and Sara Majarenas Ibarreta, born in 1980.

"They formed part of an ETA terrorist cell that was going to carry out attacks imminently," it said in a statement.

Spaniards vote on Sunday in a referendum on a European Union constitution. ETA often stages attacks to coincide with major events and rejects the constitution because it does not recognise a Basque nation.