The French and Spanish Prime Ministers claim recent cooperation between the two countries against ETA has taken a heavy toll on the armed Basque separatist group.

The pair met in Madrid to discuss a recent anti-terrorism crackdown that has led to the arrests of 22 ETA suspects. It came after the group ended a 15-month ceasefire. Jose Luis Rodgriguez Zappatero said no more could be asked of France in terms of collaboration: “They are there for whatever we want. It’s of great use in the fight against terrorism,” he said.

French premier, Francois Fillon, said operations on both sides of the border would continue until ETA was defeated:

“For many years now, thanks to close collaboration, we’ve hit ETA hard.” He added that the arrests on Thursday of alleged ETA members and other actions gave the impression that group’s infrastucture in France had been greatly reduced.

Among those detained by French police in Thursday’s raid was a man Madrid claims is the head of ETA’s logistic’s wing.

They were seized at a house in the south of the country, after a surveillance operation.

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