Society, economy & sport

2004 Madrid train bombings

11 March 2004

The Madrid train bombings were a series of coordinated attacks in which ten bombs exploded on four commuter trains during the morning rush hour, at or near Atocha station and other stops in the city. They killed 193 people and wounded about two thousand, and are the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of Spain. The bombings took place three days before a general election, and the government of Jose Maria Aznar initially blamed the Basque group ETA, while evidence pointed to a cell inspired by al-Qaeda. Many Spaniards believed the government had misled them, and the Socialist party of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero won the election and withdrew Spanish troops from Iraq.

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