2004 Madrid Train Bombing

In the morning of Thursday, 11

th
March 2004(3 days before Spains
general elections), during the peak hours, 10 explosions took occurred
aboard four commuter trains killing 191 people and leaving 1,800
injured. The official investigation by the Spanish Judiciary determined
that the attacks were directed by an al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist cell
although there was no direct al-Qaeda participation but only inspiration.
The Spanish miners who did not carry out the attack but sold the
explosives to the terrorists were also arrested. Controversy regarding
the handling and representation of the bombings by the government
arose with Spain's two main political parties, accusing each other of
concealing or distorting evidence for electoral reasons. Immediately
after the bombing leaders of the PP claimed evidence indicating the
Basque separatist organization ETA was responsible for the bombings,
an outcome generally thought favorable to the PP's chances of being re-
elected,
[verification needed][14][15]
while Islamist responsibility would have had
the opposite effect
[verification needed]
, as it would have been perceived a
consequence of the PP government taking Spain into the Iraq War, a
policy very unpopular with Spaniards. This led to demonstrations and
protests all over Spain. The predominant view of the people is that the
Aznar administration lost the general elections as a result of the handling
and representation of the terrorist attacks, rather than the bombings.
After 21 months of investigation, national Jamal Zougam was ruled guilty
of physically carrying out the attack, ruling out any ETA intervention. The
September 2007 sentence established no known mastermind nor direct
al-Qaida link.