A residential zone of Madrid was rocked by a powerful car bomb yesterday morning, injuring 81 people, although only four were seriously hurt. The bomb caused considerable damage to nearby buildings and more than 20 parked cars.
The offices of the BBVA bank, where more than 1,000 people were working at the time, was one of the worst hit, and many of the workers were among those treated for cuts and bruises from flying glass.
The car, containing between 25 and 30 kilos of explosives, was detonated by remote control by two terrorists shortly after 9 a.m. in a busy area in the north of the city. Police say it was a miracle there was no loss of life or more serious injuries as the blast would have hit dozens of pupils arriving at the nearby Padre Claret Secondary School had it occurred only 15 minutes earlier.
Speaking from the scene of the crime, the Interior Minister, Mr Mariano Rajoy, said the intended target was almost certainly Mr Juan Junquera Gonzalez, a senior official in the Ministry of Science and Technology, who was driving his official car past the bomb when the explosion occurred. Mr Junquera, who previously worked in the Prime Minister's office, escaped with only minor injuries.
The couple were arrested shortly after the attack. They were both armed with 9 millimetre parabellum pistols, the weapon most often used by ETA, and were detained after a car chase through the streets of Madrid. A man saw the two terrorists leaving their vehicle outside the bank, alerted the police on his mobile phone, and followed them in his own car until the police arrived. A third man is believed to have escaped. Police later searched three apartments in the city where the terrorists were believed to be hiding.
One of the alleged detainees has been named as Mr Aitor Garcia Aliaga who escaped from a police round-up near Vitoria last August. He was formerly a member of the Donosti (San Sebastian) cell of ETA, and now a member of the Madrid Commando (cell).
The woman was identified as Ms Ana Belen Egues, a former Herri Batasuna councillor for a village near San Sebastian. She has been on the run since 1999 and is believed to have been hiding in France before moving to Madrid to join the Madrid Commando.
Their car, a stolen Renault 19 with false licence plates, contained a quantity of explosives and was detonated by the police two hours later. Mr Rajoy told reporters the couple were also carrying wigs, disguises, forged police and civil guard badges as well as Popular Party accreditations.
This latest attack comes only a week after Spanish police detained 11 members of the pro-amnesty committees. The committees, ostensibly support groups for ETA prisoners and their families, are accused of acting as a front for ETA and of receiving funds from the terrorist organisation.
There has been considerable disquiet in Spain after Mr Juan Maria Olana, the head of the committees, avoided detention and escaped to France. In spite of an international warrant for his arrest, Mr Olana was seen leading a pro-ETA demonstration in Bayonne last Saturday, with French police taking no action against him. "This was an inexplicable failure on their part," said a Spanish interior ministry official.
Although Mr Olana is still free somewhere in France, it was learned yesterday that French police did detain another ETA suspect in a routine road check near Narbonne on Monday. The man, who has not been named, was reported to have been armed and was driving a car with false licence plates and was carrying "suspicious" identity papers.