Spain is commemorating the victims of the March 11, 2004, bombings that occurred after a series of bomb attacks by the al-Qaeda terrorist organization. The terrorist attack took the lives of nearly 200 people on commuter trains.
This was reported by UNN with reference to Euronews.
Twenty years after the terrorist attacks of March 11, 2004 in Madrid, the memory of the victims of the terrorist attacks in Spain is commemorated by numerous events.
Context
On Monday, exactly twenty years ago, a series of bomb attacks by the al-Qaeda terrorist organization took place in the Spanish capital. These terrorist attacks, which were for a long time the largest in Europe, resulted in 192 deaths and nearly 2,000 injuries. This is the most serious Islamist attack in European history.
Details
King Felipe of Spain and Queen Letizia of Spain paid tribute to the victims of the 2004 terrorist attacks in Madrid. The Spanish royal couple observed a minute of silence during a meeting in Madrid, and Felipe also gave a speech.
Most of us remember exactly where we were, what we were doing, and even how we felt that fateful morning
Felipe recalls how he went to the hospital with his wife Letizia and mother Sofia that same day to support the victims and their families.
The government and the ETA charges
The conservative government of Spain initially blamed the Basque underground organization ETA (a left-wing radical, nationalist separatist organization that advocated the independence of the Basque Country, a region located in northern Spain and southwestern France).
But it soon became clear that the Islamist network al-Qaeda was behind it.
ЄС про слова Папи Римського: "Мир у руках путіна"11.03.24, 14:49
An unexploded bomb put the police on the trail of the criminals, and during a raid in the Madrid suburb of Leganes on April 3, the leader blew himself up, killing six of his accomplices and a policeman. In 2007, 19 people were convicted in this case.
Memorial at the Atocha railway station
After the Madrid terrorist attacks, March 11 became a European day of remembrance for victims of terrorism. At Madrid's Atocha station, where most of the explosions occurred 20 years ago, passers-by gathered at a new underground memorial covered in cobalt blue paint. The previous memorial had to be dismantled due to the expansion of the metro line.
Recall
At least three sailors have been killed in a Houthi missile attack on a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden. This is the first loss of life since the Houthis began attacking ships in one of the world's most important shipping lanes due to Israel's war in Gaza.
Several people suspected of preparing terrorist attacks on cathedrals in Cologne, Vienna and Madrid, which are likely to be backed by an Islamist terrorist cell, have been arrested in Austria and Germany.