11. mars 2004

Madrid in tears Spanish blogger caspa.tv (and others) have posted this powerful picture, made by illustrator Forges at El Pais. More details and links at BoingBoing. March 11th, another date that will live in infamy. 4:52:11 PM    comment []

Rudimentary terrorism The blog Iberian Notes follows the Madrid terror attack. He is quite convinced that the ETA is really behind this. They've announced the modus operandi of the bombing operations: what the killers did was simply get on a train, unobtrusively leave a pre-set backpack, and leave through another door before the train even left the station. This "rudimentary" technique, as they called it, worked perfectly, and it fits in with ETA capabilities now: three or four kids could have pulled this off, assuming the bombs were pre-manufactured for them in some ETA hideout near Hernani or whatever. That is true, except that there were three or four simultanous explosions, on different train stations in Madrid. That requires extensive planning and coordination of at least three teams, and thus some level of sophistication. Hardly rudimentary tactics, and well beyond the capabilities of kids. I am not saying it wasn't ETA, mind you, just that this is a radical change of ETA tactics if it is really them. But it would fit al-Qaeda tactics perfectly. The strongest argument that this is ETA after all is that similar plans to bomb trains have been foiled in the past. I cannot imagine that the terrorists have not left some traces leading to the arrest of at least some of them. Then we'll know who was behind this sickening carnage. Update: Back Seat Drivers also covers this story in detail, having even more updates to the original posting than I have, including this piece of information: However, a Spanish journalist has just been on the BBC News 24 TV channel and said that police had told her that the explosives used were the same as those seized by police from ETA suspects two weeks ago. Sounds like pretty good evidence pointing towards the ETA. Update 2: There were ten bombs exploding in three different train sets: Authorities said the blasts came from 10 TNT-laden backpacks placed on trains, which have little or no pre-boarding security. [...] Authorities said they believed that 13 backpacks packed with TNT were placed on trains. Ten of the backpacks exploded. Another 3 backpacks were detonated by authorities afterwards. Chilling as the thought may be, this could have been even worse. Did the three other backpacks fail to explode due to malfunction, or did the police get to them in time? Thirteen backpacks! That sounds like a sophisticated, large-scale operation. Update 3: 186 dead, more than 1000 injured. It has for a long time been clear this is the worst terror attack in western Europe since World War II, and of course the worst ever to hit a EU country.  The Spanish government is expressing strong certainty that the ETA is to blame for the attack. Interior minister Ángel Acebes is quoted as saying "I do not have the least doubt that it is E.T.A." Update 4: There is growing evidence that al-Qaeda was behind this after all, but nothing conclusive. 2:36:52 PM    comment []

Terror hits commuter trains in Madrid Concurrent explosions hate hit commuter trains in Madrid, Spain, and "at least 23" are so far reported as killed by probably four concurrent bombs on crowded commuter trains (Spanish authorites still use the official figure of five killed). The Basque terrorist group ETA is the natural suspect. Nobody has yet claimed responsibility, but this happening three days before the general election strongly indicates a domestic agenda. Add to this that before Christmas, Spanish police averted terror attacks on the train network. Coordinated bomb attacks is otherwise the hallmark of al-Qaeda. Do terrorist groups exchange methods and tips? It is considered a safe tip that this terror attack will be helpful to the government who has practiced a "hard hand" in its dealings with ETA. Obviously, though, not hard enough. Update: My Spanish is pretty much non-existent, but I can see that El Pais now has the number of victims at 60 killed and 250 injured. Update 2: Good grief! The latest updates say 131 were killed and more than 400 people injured. This is far beyond anything the ETA has ever attempted to do. If it really is ETA, it is a huge change in tactics. This will surely create a massive Spanish counterattack on the terrorists. Are we sure this is ETA, and not al-Qaeda? Spain has after all been one of the US' greatest supporters on the Iraq war. Update 3: According to a AFP wire, the ETA denies being involved and accuses "Arabic terrorists" of being behind the attacks. I just heard this on the radio; no links yet. ETA usually has taken responsibility for its terror actions. Update 4: Batasuna leader Arnaldo Otegi has stated on Basque radio that he does not believe ETA is responsible. Interestingly, Batasuna officially denies being the political front of ETA, but now they are forced to be its public front in denying ETA responsibility. So is there any credibility to the claim? What is the point of terrorism if you don't take responsibility? There has been speculations that the attack was far more successful than planned, or that the ETA had intended to issue a warning but somehow failed to do it. Alternatively, that ETA has been radicalised by a new leadership. The fact that Spanish police has foiled semilar plots by the ETA in the near past counts against this denial. Update 5: The death count is now at 173 dead and 600 injured. Update 6: I continue discussing the story here. 9:19:19 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2004 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.04.2004; 05:09:08.