Madrid , Spain ( CNN ) -- Spanish police early Tuesday arrested nine people for suspected links to the Basque separatist group ETA , the first such detentions since ETA declared a unilateral cease-fire earlier this month , an Interior Ministry spokesman told CNN . Spain 's Interior Minister said last week that police would not ease up on ETA , blamed for more than 800 deaths in its fight for Basque independence , despite its cease-fire declaration on September 5 . The government and most Spanish political parties received ETA 's cease-fire announcement with scepticism , because the group has used previous cease-fires to regroup its forces for subsequent shootings and bombings . In the predawn hours Tuesday , Civil Guards arrested five men and four women in various northern regions of Spain , including in the three provinces which comprise the Basque country . The nine are suspected of leading an outlawed group , Ekin , which authorities link directly to the outlawed ETA . The latter , in turn , is listed as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union . Spain 's National Court in 2007 convicted 47 people in a case that aimed to dismantle Ekin . At the time , the court called Ekin `` part of the heart '' of ETA , not a mere satellite group . The Supreme Court later overturned nine of those convictions .
The government has said it will not ease up on them despite ceasefire . The nine are arrested in various northern regions . They are believed to be members of an outlawed group , Taliban .