 Fernandez Iradi was arrested during a large-scale operation |
French police have re-arrested a man believed to be a senior member of the Spanish Basque separatist group ETA. Ibon Fernandez Iradi, 32, was picked up on Thursday in the south-western town of Mont-de-Marsan.
He had escaped custody in December 2002 by squeezing through the skylight window of a French police cell.
Spanish Interior Minister Angel Acebes congratulated French police on the "large-scale operation" that led to Thursday's capture.
'Top man'
Last month Spanish police arrested 12 suspected ETA members in the Basque region.
The raids were the results of information obtained from documents seized during Ibon Fernandez Iradi's first capture last year.
 Fernandez Iradi, also known as Susper, has supporters among Basque radicals |
In October security forces on both sides of the border arrested 34 people suspected of links to the group. Mr Acebes described Ibon Fernandez Iradi as "one of the top figures in the ETA terrorist organisation, who was largely in charge of commando operations".
His escape caused severe embarrassment for the French authorities, and prompted an intense manhunt across the south-west.
ETA's 35-year campaign for a sovereign Basque state has cost more than 800 lives.
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