Jenni Sleath
Bombing kills more than 200 at Madrid train stations On Thursday, March 11, 2004, a series of bombs hidden in backpacks, exploded. There are a few suspects as to who planted the bombs, and Spain’s government is working to figure out who it was. At least two hundred people were killed, and more bodies are still being uncovered.
The bombs went off at rush hour, in several train stations in Madrid. Two of the bombs went off in a train at Atocha station, in the heart of Madrid. Train cars were turned into a twisted mess, and people were strewn all over the place. People were panicky, and trampling on each other, no longer caring about their bags, or shoes. The bombing went on three days before Spain’s general election.
As I mentioned earlier, there are two main suspects in the bombings. One is Spain’s ETA (standing for Basque homeland, and freedom in the native language) group. The other one, although, much less suspected (although no one knew at the time), al-Qaida. The government said ETA had tried a similar attack on Christmas Eve, where they placed bombs on trains, bound for Madrid, although not heading for a station that was hit during this recent bombing. Acebes, the interior minister, also had said “ETA had been looking for a massacre.”
The bombings in Spain occurred exactly two and a one-half years after the September 11th attacks, and nobody really know where this attack will lead. When they first published news about the bombings, 190 people were said to have been killed, and more than 1,400 wounded, but they are still searching.
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