MERGED: Madrid Bombing

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Popmartijn

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Bombs in Madrid

:(

I haven't seen this reported here, but this morning there were four explosions at train stations in Spain. Here's an article from the BBC website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3500452.stm

Scores die in Madrid bomb carnage

A string of deadly blasts has hit three Madrid train stations during the rush hour with latest reports speaking of more than 100 people killed.

Dazed and bloodied commuters staggered from the Atocha station in the heart of the Spanish capital where two blasts destroyed a suburban train.

Two other train stations were also hit by the near simultaneous explosions.

Spain's government has blamed Basque separatist group Eta for the attacks which come ahead of Sunday's elections.

Blood donations

"This is a massacre," said government spokesman Eduardo Zaplana.

He condemned what he called "an attack on Spanish democracy", calling Eta "a criminal gang of killers."

The authorities say no warning was given before the blasts.

The explosions at Atocha happened at about 0630 GMT as a train was pulling into the station.

"People started to scream and run, some bumping into each other," Juani Fernandez, a civil servant who was on the platform, told the Associated Press.

" I saw people with blood pouring from them, people on the ground."

There were scenes of carnage at Atocha, a huge rail station used by commuter and inter-city trains, which also has a metro station.

There were similar scenes of destruction and chaos at two smaller commuter stations: El Pozo and Santa Eugenia.

Hundreds of people were injured in the attacks. The emergency services have set up a treatment centre in a sports hall and Madrid hospitals have made an urgent appeal for blood donations.

Spain's political parties have suspended campaigning for Sunday's poll.

Bomb plots

There has been no claim of responsibility from Eta, but across the political spectrum in Spain there has been widespread condemnation of the group.

Interior Minister Angel Acebes, speaking from the scene of the blast at Atocha, said, "Have no doubt, those responsible will be caught and will pay for their crime."

The Basque regional president, Juan Jose Ibarretxe, stressed that Eta does not represent the Basque people.
"When Eta attacks, the Basque heart breaks into a thousand pieces," he said.

The Spanish government has declared three days of mourning for the victims and called on Spaniards to stage rallies on Friday evening to condemn the attacks.

If it is confirmed as Eta's work, it would be the deadliest attack by the group, which has killed more than 800 people in its armed struggle for independence from the Spanish state since the late 1960s.

Last month, two suspected Eta members were arrested as they headed to Madrid in a truck laden with explosives.

Spanish police said they were arrested about 140km outside the city with 500kg of explosives hidden in the vehicle.

And last December, Spanish authorities said they foiled a Basque separatist plot to blow up a train at a Madrid rail station.

France has stepped up its police presence on its border with Spain in response to Thursday's attacks, the French news agency AFP reports.

Close co-operation between the two countries has led to dozens of arrests of suspected Eta members in southern France in recent years.

:|

Marty
 
nightmare. death toll now 173. As quoted above, it looks like work of ETA. Police stopped a van of explosives a couple of weeks ago being driven into Madrid by ETA scum. Looks like they found another way. Thoughts and prayers with our Spanish friends.
 
Interesting, some Spanish officials say they're certain it was ETA but I heard other people say that it might have been someone else. Blowing up civillians is something ETA has never done before (always officials and public figures). Also it would be very bad politically for ETA since they have now lost most of their support in Basque country. Besides, elections are this weekend and this would only lead to more votes for Aznar and he seems to have been very succesfull in taking on ETA. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
 
ETA has blown up civilians before, the worst until now was here in Barcelona when they killed 27 people at a supermarket.

However, normally ETA phones authorities before they act. This time there was no phone call. It has even been denied by a leader of anETA linked political party that ETA is responsible.

It's hard to say. Things have been heating up here in terms of ETA and terrorism. They recently announced that they would not bomb in Catalunuya, which has nationalist/separatist sentiments, but has never resorted to violence. This announcement came after a meeting between the leader of the Catalan socialist party (ERC) and ETA. So it looked like a pact bewteen ETA and ERC, which was a complete fabrication. There was no such agreement, but the media and right wing government had a field day with it. So it looks like all of these events are connected. If it was in fact ETA, it appears they are trying to divide Spain and Catalunya and stir the pot. It also appears they are trying to influence the national elections on Sunday, but to what end, I don't know.

My sympathies go out to Madrile?os. Hopefully these cowards will be caught and brought to justice.
 
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And as usual the UEFA thinks that the Spanish clubs have to play football matches this evening. Not that I'm surprised by this. On September 11 they'd also ordered for the matches to be played. I think it would cost them money otherwise... :tsk:

Excerpt from the UEFA website:
http://www.uefa.com/competitions/UEFACup/news/Kind=1/newsId=153147.html

Spanish clubs' games go ahead
Thursday, 11 March 2004

Tonight's UEFA Cup fourth round first-leg matches involving Spanish teams will go ahead as scheduled in the wake of this morning's bomb attacks in Madrid.

Black armbands
UEFA said that players in the matches featuring the four Spanish clubs would wear black armbands, and that a minute's silence would be observed before the games as a mark of respect for the victims of the bomb attacks.

Four clubs
RCD Mallorca are away to Newcastle United FC in England, FC Barcelona travel to Celtic FC in Scotland, and Valencia CF play in Turkey against Gen?lerbirligi SK. The fourth Spanish team, Villareal CF, are at home to AS Roma.

UEFA statement
A UEFA statement said: "UEFA has today confirmed that all of the UEFA Cup fourth round first-leg matches scheduled for tonight will go ahead as planned.

Gee, how narrowminded can some people be! :tsk:

:|

Marty
 
:sad: I feel so sad today . In the name of spanish people thanks for your condolences. UEFA's decision surprised me, because turkish teams didn't play their matches when istanbul earthquake happened.
 
i think laws are quite lenient, all suspects should be held in jail till as long as is required. Italy left off Abbas in 1980s. Al-Qaeda suspects are being released. There should be proactive action against all terrorist organisations - whether ETA or Al-Qaeda. I hate it when media calls them rebels or seperatists.

All secular and democratic countries should unite in this war against terrorism

To hell with human rights :mad:
 
There are probably not enough words to describe how horrible this is.

I hope that all of the wounded will recover from this, and that it will never happen again.
 
AcrobatMan said:
To hell with human rights :mad:

I understand how angry and disgusted you are at the bombings and how worrying it must be if you're travelling in Europe right now. However once you start saying human rights don't matter you're in dangerous territory. Terrorists have no respect for human rights, whether the right to life, the right to hold political opinions or the right to free speech, yet these are values that people who stand opposed to terrorism consider fundamental.

There need be no conflict between preventing terrorism and respecting human rights.
 
Tomorrow I would have gone to Madrid with my school if a group of heartless bastards hadn't decided to kill more than 170 people today.

All for what? Is this needed to defend any conviction?

When this morning a friend of mine came to my class at 10.20 and said "there are 120 people killed by now" I started crying.

Sadness. Anger. Impotence. I don't know how to describe it.

I just can't understand this.
 
A letter to a London Newspaper is reportng Al Qaeda is responsible for this attack. I just heard this on the news.
 
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A friend of mine at another message board said that a friend of hers was killed in the bombing. :sad:
 
.:ohmy: :censored: :scream: :sad:


As a life-long NYC'er, who fell in love with the Twin Towers the year I spent up in the northeast corner of the 73rd floor of the South Tower, and has hung out <still do> in that area's water-front plaza, esplanades & parks for decades---

I especially send prayers for *strength* to all the bereaved,
and *strength & eventual healing* for the injured, rescuers, recoverers, obsververs, other specialists and for all the people of of Spain & their friends-- whether [injured] physically, mental emotional and/or spiritualy, for this new Atrocity we have witnessed today
 
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