Basque police arrest five people in crackdown on ETA

Police in the Basque Country have arrested five presumed members of the armed Basque group ETA, Basque Government''s Interior Department sources confirmed on Tuesday morning.

The arrests were made in Ondarroa in the province of Bizkaia and Deba and Mutriku in Gipuzkoa.

The five presumed members are believed to be responsible for an attack on the headquarters of the Basque Police in Ondarroa in September 2008, when eleven people, including three Basque policemen, were injured.

The suspects were arrested early in the morning on the border of the Basque provinces of Biscay and Guipuzcoa. The operation was continuing and the police did not rule out making further arrests. Several homes and properties were being searched, they added.

Spain raised its anti-terror alert to level 2, the second highest warning, over Christmas, to reflect the increased level of possible attacks during the country''s six-month European Union Presidency which started on January 1st.