Iparretarrak or IK was a Basque nationalist

Basque nationalism

Basque nationalism is a political movement advocating for either further political autonomy or, chiefly, full independence of the Basque Country in the wider sense...

 terrorist

Terrorism

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

 organization operating in the French Basque Country.
It was founded in 1973 by Philippe Bidart, to date, 1982 remains as their most active year, with 32 attacks; despite having mostly targeted tourist developments, it has also assassinated a number of French police personnel. In 1984, they attacked the Biarritz

Biarritz

Biarritz is a city which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in south-western France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers....

 airport before the arrival of the French president François Mitterrand

François Mitterrand

François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...

, who was accused by IK of "not respecting the Basque culture and national rights".

Despite basically sharing the same goals and methods, it has an uneasy relation with ETA

ETA

ETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...

, a more powerful organization based in the Spanish Basque Country, mostly because ETA uses the French Basque Country as a sanctuary

Sanctuary

A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...

 and does not want to provoke the French Government in this regard.

In 1998 it declared a unilateral truce, which broke when in 2000 it attacked a police station in Lecumberry

Lecumberry

Lecumberry is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.It is located in the former province of Lower Navarre.-External links:*...

 and a touristic site in Bayonne

Bayonne

Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...

. To date, it has not claimed any more actions, but another groups, like Irrintzi

Irrintzi

Irrintzi is an armed Basque nationalist group or cell that acts in the French Basque Country . The word irrintzi refers originally to the traditional Basque folk high pitched scream used to express celebration or happiness....

, has taken the place of IK in northern Basque Country starting a campaign against tourist targets.

In 2007 the leader and founder of IK Philippe Bidart was set free after being in prison since 1988. Nowadays, there is no member of IK in prison.

IK members Killed in Action (KIA)

• Txomin Olhagarai (1980)
• Ramuntxo Arruiz (1980)
• Didier Laffite (1984)
• Maddi Hegi (1987)
• Cristophe Isteke (1987)
• Jean Louis Larre, Popo (disappeared since 1983)