Iparretarrak (meaning "
the Northerners" in
Basque), commonly known as
IK, was a
Basque nationalist paramilitary organization operating in the
French Basque Country, founded in 1973 by Philippe Bidart and other Basque activists. 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 airport before the arrival of the French president
François Mitterrand, who was accused by IK of "not respecting the
Basque culture and national rights".