ETA gunmen kill Spanish policeman in France

By Claude Canellas

CAPBRETON, France (Reuters) - ETA gunmen shot and killed a Spanish policeman and seriously wounded another in France on Saturday, the first killing by the Basque separatist group in almost a year.

The two plain-clothed Guardia Civil policemen had been taking part in a surveillance operation with French police in Capbreton, 20 km (12 miles) from the southern city of Biarritz, French police said.

Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said it appeared the policemen and ETA suspects were in the same cafeteria by chance and that after recognizing each other, the two policemen left the bar.

The suspects followed them outside, where witnesses said they heard shouts followed by shots, Rubalcaba said. The two were shot at point blank range, according to French police.

French Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie told a joint news conference with Rubalcaba that ETA had shot at police in France before, but the latest incident was "quite exceptional".

"By all accounts, this is something that was done in cold blood and it's the first time that that has happened," she said.

The two victims were found in an unmarked French car in a supermarket car park in this small resort town early on Saturday. The wounded officer was rushed to hospital in critical condition.

Alliot-Marie said police were still hunting two men and a woman, who Spanish media said was their getaway driver.