1993 Madrid bombings
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| 1993 Madrid bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Basque conflict | |
| Location | Madrid, Spain |
| Date | 21 June 1993 0815 (UTC+2) |
| Target | Army lorry |
Attack type | car bomb |
| Deaths | 7 |
| Injured | 29 |
| Perpetrators | ETA |
The 1993 Madrid bombings were a coordinated attack of two car bombs by the armed Basque separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) in Madrid, Spain on 21 June 1993, killing 7 people and injuring a further 29. The target was an army vehicle transporting members of the army, killing six military passengers and the civilian driver. This was the deadliest attack of 1993 attributed to ETA.[1][2]
Prior to these attacks, ETA carried out multiple, high-profile bombings, including the Plaza República Dominicana bombing in July 1986, which killed 12 members of the Spanish Civil Guard. Earlier attacks in Madrid included the February 1992 bombing that killed four military personnel among others.[2][3]
The bombing occurred 15 days after the Spanish general election amid coalition government negotiations. The attacks were seen as a response to recent setbacks for ETA, including the poor electoral performance of its political wing, Herri Batasuna, and the imprisonment of key ETA leaders in France.[2][3]
The attacks
The first and main attack took place at 8:15 a.m. on Joaquín Costa Street near Glorieta López de Hoyos. A parked car containing 40 kilograms of explosives detonated as an unmarked military van passed by, killing seven; four lieutenant colonels, a commander, a sergeant and the civilian driver of the vehicle. The explosion injured 22 others, including children, and caused significant structural damage to 14 buildings, displacing 90 families.[3][4]
An hour later, a second bomb exploded on Serrano Street, near the American and French embassies. The car, a red Ford, contained 4 to 5 kilograms of explosives and had been parked shortly before detonation. This blast injured three people, including children waiting for a school bus.[1][2]