Eta: history of the Basque separatist group – in pictures

1973: Policemen in Madrid search among the damage after a bomb attack in which the prime minister, Luis Carrero Blanco, was killed Photograph: AFP

1973: Five hooded men, who presented themselves as members of Eta, give a press conference in an undisclosed city in southern France, nine days after the death of Carrero Blanco Photograph: AFP

1987: The aftermath of a car bomb in Barcelona in which 21 shoppers died Photograph: Sipa Press/Rex Features

1997: Spaniards in the Puerta del Sol in downtown Madrid hold up pictures of Miguel Angel Blanco Garrido on 14 July to mourn the death of the young politician and condemn the Basque separatist guerrillas who killed him. More than 2 million people took to the streets across Spain to vent their fury and grief Photograph: Sergio Perez/Reuters

1999: One of four unidentified masked members of Eta hold up a document as they announce the end of a 14-month ceasefire in December during an exclusive briefing with a Basque news agency in a secret location in Spain Photograph: AP

2001: Police specialists examine the remains of the Torrevieja apartment building where alleged Eta member Olaia Castresana died on 24 July when the bomb she was working on exploded in her hands Photograph: Morell/ EFE/EPA

2003: Hotel Nadal in Benidorm after a bomb blast in July. Two bombs exploded, damaging two tourist hotels along Spain's Mediterranean coast. Nine people were slightly injured in the attack which authorities blamed on Eta Photograph: Kai Forsterling/EFE

2004: A man walks past graffiti that reads "Join and fight, freedom for the Basque Country" in San Sebastian. The Basque newspaper Gara published a statement allegedly from the Basque separatist group Eta urging the incoming prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to negotiate with them Photograph: Aranberri/AP

2005: People stand beside a burnt out car after a powerful car bomb exploded in Madrid, following a warning call from Eta. Eighteen people were slightly injured in the latest of a string of explosions since Spain's prime minister offered talks with the armed Basque separatist group if it renounces violence Photograph: Mariana Eliano/AP

2006: Firefighters and emergency personnel work in the Terminal 4 parking area at Barajas Airport, Madrid. A car bomb exploded in the multi-storey car park, ending a nine-month ceasefire Photograph: Victor Lerena/EFE

2006: Outlawed Basque separatist Batasuna party leaders Arnaldo Otegi, centre, Joseba Alvarez, left, and Joseba Permach, attend a rally in March in San Sebastian in the Basque region of northern Spain. The Basque Nationalist Movement called for a general strike on Thursday to condemn the recent deaths of Eta-linked prisoners Igor Angulo and Roberto Saiz as they were imprisoned Photograph: Javier Echezarreta/EFE

2006: Video released by the Basque separatist group Eta, shows three unidentified people seated at a table in front of an Eta flag, wearing Basque berets. The video declared a permanent ceasefire, bringing a dramatic end to a decades-long campaign of violence Photograph: Sipa Press/Rex Features

2006: A woman holds a picture of a member of Basque separatist guerrilla group Eta during a demonstration in downtown Madrid. The demonstrators, led by the Victims of Terrorism Association, demanded no government negotiation with the guerrilla group Photograph: Susana Vera/Reuters

2007: Thousands of Basque citizens participate in a rally in Bilbao to protest against the decision of a Spanish court to order the detention of 46 members convicted of aiding Eta through a network of ostensibly legitimate social and political organisations Photograph: Alvaro Barrientos/AP

2008: A hooded Ertzaina (Basque regional policeman) examines bullet holes in the windscreen of a car where an alleged Eta gunman shot dead former Socialist party councillor Isaias Carrasco as he was leaving his home in Arrasate in the Basque region Photograph: Javier Etxezarreta/EFE

2008: Javier Lopez Pena, alias Thierry, the suspected leader of Basque rebels Eta shouts slogans as he is escorted by police in Bordeaux after being arrested in a joint raid by French and Spanish police in May Photograph: Patrick Bernard/AFP

19 June 2009: Members of Spain's police, civil guard and Basque police carry the coffin of police officer Eduardo Puelles during his funeral in Arrigorriaga. A bomb planted by Eta killed the police officer when it exploded under his car Photograph: Vincent West/Reuters

29 July 2009: Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba surrounded by policemen and investigators walks in front of the civil guard barracks after a car bomb exploded in the northern Spanish city of Burgos. The bomb – blamed on Eta – injured around 50 people Photograph: Cesar Manso/AFP/Getty Images

30 July 2009: An investigator stands by the wreckage of a car in Palmanova, on the Balearic Island of Mallorca. At least two people were killed by a car bomb at a civil guard barracks Photograph: Dani Cardona/Reuters

Spanish national newspapers carry the story of the announcement by ETA calling a halt to 50 years of armed struggle, at a kiosk in Madrid Photograph: Susana Vera/Reuters