10
BOMBS STRIKE MADRID TRAINS, KILL 180+
11 March 2004
Ten
bombs struck the heart of Madrid today, exploding
within a few minutes of one another at the Atocha,
Santa Eugenia and El Pozo del Tío Raimundo
train stations and at the Calle Téllez, near
Atocha. Reports indicate at least 192 killed and more
than 1,400 injured. The attacks are an unprecedented
terrorist action for Spain.
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| Atocha
Station, Madrid |
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The
government has declared the Basque separatist terrorist
group, ETA, responsible for the bombings. But for
the first time, the political party with ties to ETA,
Batasuna, has condemned the attacks. A Batasuna spokesman
suggested that the attacks were conducted by "the
Arab resistance", which many interpret as meaning
Al Qaeda. The attack itself is on a scale, and conducted
in a way, that seems to follow the modus operandi
of Al Qaeda, but the Spanish government has said the
explosive used can be linked to other ETA bombings,
and maintains that ETA is wholly and solely responsible
for the attacks.
Normally,
ETA warns of its attacks shortly before they occur,
and always takes responsibility for its bombings,
but no such warning or claim of responsibility has
occurred, deepening fears and doubts, throughout the
morning, about who might be behind the bombing.
By
afternoon, Al Qaeda had reportedly claimed responsibility
for the attacks. In a letter to a London-based Arab
language newspaper, Al Qaeda claimed the bombing had
been coordinated by their network, in order to retaliate
for Spain's involvement in Iraq, and making reference
to ancient conflict between Spanish kings and caliphs.
The group actually cited as responsible was the Abu
Hafs Brigades, which claimed to be evening the score
for civilians who died in wars in muslim countries.
Even
before the claim of responsibility, Spanish officials
had located a van, containing detonators and a tape
on which Koranic verses were recited. The Interior
Minister, in response to the new wave of information,
said that no avenue of investigation would be ruled
out.
National
elections are upcoming in Spain, and major political
parties have chosen to abandon the campaign, in order
to join together in expressing grief and outrage.
The affect the bombings will have on the elections
is uncertain. The Prime Minister's Partido Popular
had been claiming
victory over ETA, after a series of high profile
arrests and thwarted bomb plots. The political situation
is now increasingly complicated, as the nation is
beset with grief, and the contentious issue of security
will likely arise, beginnng with the Prime Minister's
promise of "complete and total defeat for terrorism".
Spain
is now clearly facing a crisis, in which it is above
all necessary to uncover the basic facts of the event,
to learn how such a vast security breach occurred,
and who exactly planned and executed the attacks.
Terrorism is testing no only the credulity and emotional
state of the Spanish people, but also the strength
and ability of its investigatory agencies. Spain has
a powerful history of opposing terrorism and has held
rallies in which literally millions marched in silence
to express solidarity against the use of violence
against civilians. [For more: ElPeriódico]
