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Basque arrested in UK for Spanish king assassination plot

Armed British police have arrested a Basque man suspected of plotting to assassinate Spain's King Juan Carlos in 1997. Eneko Gogeaskoetxea Arronategui, 44, was detained at Cambridge University on Thursday, following an "intelligence-led" operation.

Reuters
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He is accused of being a member of the armed Basque separatist group, Eta, and believed to have been part of a commando that planted explosives at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao when it opened in October 1997.

Juan Carlos was believed to have been the target of the bomb, which was discovered the day before the opening.

Arronategui is "wanted by Spanish authorities in connection with the attempted assassination of the king of Spain, terrorism and other serious offences," Scotland Yard said in a statement.

He was apprehended on a European arrest warrant, which states he is wanted for "participation in an armed gang; attempted assassination of the king; terrorism resulting in death; possession of weapons; theft and forgery".

Searches are under way at a residential address and two business addresses
in Cambridge.

Arronategui was due to appear later Thursday at City of Westminster Magistrates Court in central London.

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