Madrid - According to several sources from the Spanish police departments, the French police managed to capture two suspected members of the dangerous militant Basque separatist group ETA.

The two were captured during a routine police check as they were cycling near Tarascon-sur-Ariege in the south of the country. They were armed with a pistol and a revolver.

The suspects had documents related to ETA in their bags, the sources said. They also carried fake identity documents.

ETA, which has killed more than 800 people in its campaign for a sovereign Basque state carved out of northern Spain and southern France, has long had a part of its infrastructure based in France.

ETA has been listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States.