Basque's ETA military chief arrested in France

Paris: French police have arrested the suspected leader of the military wing of banned Basque group ETA.

The man is suspected of being behind the killing of two Spanish civil guardsmen in southwest France last year.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has hailed the arrest of the suspect, Garikoitz Asiazu Rubina, as a sign of cooperation between French and Spanish police.

The French Interior Ministry said Asiazu Rubina was detained before dawn on Monday in the Hautes-Pyrenees region along the Spanish border. The militant group ETA hopes to create a Basque homeland in the region.

The suspect is suspected of having a role in the killing of two Spanish civil guard officers in December during an intelligence operation in the town of Capbreton, France.