National Police anti-terrorist officers found a quantity of explosives and arms during a raid on a garage in the Basque town of Hernani (Bilbao) during the early hours of Sunday morning.

Apart from 50kg dynamite and assorted bomb making equipment, police officers also confiscated two submachine guns -a MATT and an Uzi- as well as two boxes each containing fifty 9mm Parabellum cartridges.

12kg of a substance thought to be some kind of chlorate, 1.5kg of sulphur, 42m of detonator cable, 14 electric detonators, and three timers were also seized as well as two movement sensors normally used by ETA for manufacturing car bombs.

The raid was linked to the arrest in Hernani of Marta Igarriz Izeta -one of the "Donosti" commando unit believed to have been responsible for recent ETA attacks on the Costa Blanca and in Madrid.

Last three members of Donosti ETA commando unit arrested
Thursday, April 7, 2005

National Police officers in Mondragón and Hernani have arrested what are believed to be the last three members of the ETA´s Donosti commando unit following the arrests of three others in San Sebastián on the 25th March.

Marta Igarriz was arrested in Hernani in a dawn raid this morning while the other two suspects, Gorka Aztiria and Gaizka Olabarreita, where detained in Arrasate-Mondragón. All three are accused of providing logistics and operational support to the rest of the ETA terrorist gang.

With these arrests, the total of ETA suspects detained so far this year, rises to fifty.  

Police smash Donosti ETA commando unit
Saturday, March 26, 2005

Three more ETA terrorist suspects were arrested yesterday in San Sebastián, raising to seven the number of arrests this week in France and Spain. These operations coincide with an attempt by the government to ban a group of pro-separatist candidates -Aukera Guztiak- taking part in the forthcoming Basque regional elections for their refusal to denounce violence and alleged links to ETA and their banned political arm, Batasuna.

A dozen officers made the arrests at a flat in San Sebastian during the early hours of yesterday morning as the three men slept. They have been identified as; 27 year old Iker Olabarrieta Colorado, who is thought to have links with the Basque youth group Jarrai, Igor Gonzalez Sola, 32, an alleged urban terrorist, and Carmelo Laucirica Orive, 27, who is wanted for questioning about a number of acts of "street violence." Police also seized three pistols, an automatic rifle, enough explosives to make four bombs, forged credit cards, other documents and fake license plates during the raid.

Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso said the three comprised a commando unit that was "operational and active," adding that it was vital to keep up "police and judicial pressure on ETA," but was unwilling to divulge any details of their planned targets.