A French policeman has been killed near Paris in a shootout with gunmen who officials said might be linked to the Basque separatist group Eta.
A man arrested after the shooting identified himself as a Basque Eta member, Spanish newspapers reported.
French officials told AFP news agency that the involvement of Eta was one of several leads being followed.
The shooting happened late on Tuesday when police checked the identities of a group suspected of stealing cars.
Later, police mounted a search operation in the area, a south-eastern suburb of Paris called Dammarie-les-Lys.
Eta is blamed for the deaths of more than 800 people since the late 1960s in its campaign for an independent Basque state.
If confirmed, this would be the first killing of a French policeman by Eta.
There have been frequent arrests of Eta suspects in France, often in the south-west.
However, last month one of the group's top leaders, Ibon Gogeascoechea, was arrested in north-western France.
He was detained with two other Eta suspects in a joint French-Spanish operation in Normandy.
via BBC News – Eta suspected in killing of French policeman.