French police uncover three ETA stashes in the Pyrenees

French security forces on Tuesday uncovered three caches of terrorist materiel stashed by ETA in the Pyrenees after a tip-off by the Spanish Civil Guard, anti-terrorist sources told news agency Efe. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero lauded collaboration between Spanish and French antiterrorist authorities, calling the discovery "an important operation."

The prime minister said the government will continue "on the same path, to disable ETA. One of the ways to do this is to find all the places it is hiding its arsenal."

The caches were expected to be opened on Tuesday afternoon by bomb-disposal experts, as is usual when there is a possibility of uncovering explosives. The latest find brings the number of ETA stashes discovered in France this year to five. In January, two clandestine stores containing fuel cans and rifles were found. The largest haul of ETA explosives seized in France - 500 kilos of ammonium nitrate and aluminum dust - was discovered in Grenoble in April 2009.

In April of this year, Spanish authorities seized 1,600 kilos of explosives in Navarre.