Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

MADRID BOMBINGS OF 11 MARCH 2004 • 411of the Hipercor supermarket in Barcelona on 19 June 1987 that killed21 and injured 45. Apart from the immediate impact on victims and thebombed locales, the bombings may have contributed to the subsequentelectoral defeat of the governing Partido Popular (Popular Party) in the14 March election, which was won by the Partido Socialista ObreroEspañol (PSOE), or the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, which hadbeen opposed to Spain joining the U.S.-led coalition that invaded Iraqin April 2003. On 19 April 2004 the new Spanish prime minister, JoséLuis Rodríguez Zapatero, announced that Spain was withdrawing itstroops from Iraq, although the PSOE government continued to supporta Spanish military role in Afghanistan.The trains targeted were all on the line connecting Alcalá de Henares,a large municipality northeast of Madrid, and the Atocha stationin Madrid, and all explosions took place in the period 7:37–7:40 a.m.local time, when the trains would be filled with commuters during themorning rush hour. Three bombs exploded on train number 21431at Atocha Station. Four bombs exploded on train number 17395 just800 meters away from Atocha Station. Two bombs exploded on trainnumber 21435 just as it was leaving El Pozo del Tío Raimondo Station.One bomb exploded on train number 21713 at the Santa EugeniaStation. An analysis of an unexploded bomb led to the discoveryof the use of cell phones as the initiators, and the identity code foundwithin the cell phone led to the identification and arrest of a Moroccan,Jamal Zougam, leader of a cell of Islamic militants suspected ofcarrying out the bombings.Following another unsuccessful attempted bombing of a high-speedtrain on 2 April 2004, Spanish authorities had enough leads to attemptthe arrests of militants in an apartment in Leganés, just south ofMadrid, on the evening of 3 April 2004, in the course of which fourindividuals in the apartment killed themselves by exploding bombmaterials, also killing one police officer and injuring 11 others. Theprincipal suspected leader of the group, an Algerian, Daoud Ouhnane,had escaped. Unexploded bombs revealed use of dynamite in one andof Spanish-manufactured military-grade explosives, Goma-ECO, inthe others. These findings led to the later arrests of three Spanish policeinformants, and eventually up to 29 suspects were arrested and chargedwith involvement in the bombing conspiracy on 11 April 2006.The question of responsibility was muddled by initial claims of thePartido Popular government of José María Aznar that the bombings