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The police raid apparently foiled ETA plans to attack a French-built shopping center in Spain. The police reportedly uncovered information on ETA-M's operational plans, targets, safehouses, weapons, and explosives. It is too early to tell if the Madrid Commando is in total disarray. We believe rank-andfile members rather than key leaders were arrested in the roundup, leaving the possibility that the Madrid group may still be able to stage attacks.

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United Press o

ETA-M bombing of Civil Guard bus in Madrid, 14 July 1986 (U)

Joint cooperation, moreover, led to the discovery of a major ETA-M arms cache in southern France, last November, and the arrests of several ETA-M leaders. Police confiscated large amounts of cash, weapons, explosives, and documents detailing the group's finances, structure, and operational plans. Spanish officials hailed the raid as the single most important (b)(3)against ETA in the group's 18-year history.

ETA Strikes Back In retaliation for the French crackdown last year, ETA began a wave of terrorist attacks against French property in Spain. French trucks were machinegunned during the winter and spring, and Frenchregistered vehicles were burned almost daily during the summer and early fall. French car showrooms were also hit. After the November raid, ETA-M began to attack larger businesses, causing numerous injuries and one death. ETA-M also focused the attacks on French beach resorts, and late last year planted bombs at sk; hotels that are partially French owned

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Prospects ETA-M must struggle if it is to regain the momentum it had in 1983. That year ETA-M was responsible for 165 attacks-international and domestic-almost triple the 1986 level. The group has demonstrated enormous staying power over the years, however, and almost certainly will remain a challenge to Spanish and French police. French-Spanish cooperation against ETA-M is likely to continue, moreover, and could spur more indiscriminate and lethal attacks against both French and Spanish interests.

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The Madrid Commando The Spanish national police scored an important victory when they arrested nine of the estimated 12 members of the violent Madrid Commando unit on 16 January 1987. The Commando, active since the early 1980s, was responsible for some of the most spectacular terrorist operations of ETA-M last year. The police acted on information gained from the November raid and on carefUL Spanish and French intelligence work during the past months: • Spanish officials believe the Commando carried out

a rocket attack on the Spanish Defense Ministry

building last summer. • Police believe the unit was also responsible for two

attacks on Civil Guard vehicles that killed 18 guards and for murdering three military officers in

1986. • The Madrid Commando staged an abortive attempt

on the life of the Spanish Judiciary Council President Hernandez-Gil

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Approved for Release: 2017/09/13 C05922884