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Europe
Car bomb explosion causes injuries in Madrid
2005-05-25
A car bomb has exploded in Madrid after a warning was given to a newspaper in the name of the Eta Basque militants. Three people are reported to have been injured in the blast in the north of the Spanish capital at 0730 GMT. Police had been able to clear most of the area after the Basque Gara paper - often contacted before such attacks - passed on the warning it had received. The Spanish parliament recently backed a plan to allow peace talks with Eta if the group lays down its arms. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero condemned the attack during a speech in the Senate shortly after the blast, reiterating the government's goal to combat and end terrorism.

"I want to share with you my condemnation for this violent act, for this act of terror," he said. "The only fate that the terrorist group Eta has is to lay down weapons and dissolve." Opposition Popular Party spokesman Pio Garcia Escudero expressed support for the government, according to Efe, adding that the latest attack "does not seem to show a desire to negotiate, rather an attempt to apply pressure". Reports say the explosives were packed in backpacks inside the van. Police were able to cordon off the area before the explosion
Posted by:Paul Moloney

#8  Ed

They warned beforehand, I don't know by how much. The bomb exploded earlier than announced. Again I don't know by how much and if it could have been a honest mistake (but I suppose that when you warn you also allow for a safety margin) or if if it was deliberate.
Posted by: JFM   2005-05-25 16:42  

#7  Well seen, trailing wife.
Posted by: rufus   2005-05-25 15:04  

#6  Hmm. In the 3/11 subway attack they put the explosives in planted backpacks, too. Same method, same people? And this time Eta claimed responsibility. This lends credence to recent claims that the Socialists and police were involved in setting up Azbar's government to influence the election.
Posted by: trailing wife   2005-05-25 12:39  

#5  JFM, How much warning time before the blast? Why so many wounded? Was it a crowded plaza?
Posted by: ed   2005-05-25 10:51  

#4  So what do they do now? Pull out of Basque?
Posted by: tu3031   2005-05-25 10:47  

#3  Updated: It is over 50 lightly wounded and one grievously wounded.
Posted by: JFM   2005-05-25 10:45  

#2  ..reiterating the government's goal to combat and end terrorism.

It's only terrorism, for Heaven's sake. Just appease them like ya'll did the last time.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2005-05-25 10:21  

#1  It's a quagmire!
Posted by: Captain Pedantic   2005-05-25 09:02  

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