Rubalcaba says 'sick joke' for Bildu to call shooting 'incident'

Spain''s interior minister is ridiculing a Basque pro-independence coalition for downplaying as an "incident" a shootout in which a French officer was wounded by suspected members of the armed Basque group ETA.

The gunbattle took place Saturday in central France after a female driver failed to stop at a checkpoint and her companion opened fire at officers in pursuit. They were arrested Sunday.

The new Basque coalition Bildu issued a statement calling the shooting an incident and insisting ETA''s ceasefire continues.

Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba told reporters Monday it was a "sick joke" for Bildu to call the shooting anything but an attempted killing.