ETA admits Basque shootings

The Spanish Basque separatist group, ETA, has said it was responsible for shooting dead a prominent regional politician and the attempted shooting of another earlier this month.

In a statement, ETA accused the Popular Party of the Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, of fighting a war to destroy the Basque nation.

The governmnent had already accused ETA of carrying out the killings in retaliation for the recent jailing of all twenty-three leaders of the ETA political wing, Herri Batasuna.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service