Madrid Terrorist Attacks (2004)

On March 11, 2004, terrorists detonated a series of bombs on four commuter trains heading toward Madrid, Spain. This intricate, well-coordinated act of terror, causing the deaths of 191 people and injuries to over 1,800, is considered the most grievous incident to have occurred in Europe in peacetime. In short order, an urban pre-hospital and hospital system worked through the chaos and confusion to deliver care to the victims, manage the recovery of the dead, and provide solace to loved ones. Despite official declarations that this incident was the handiwork of the ETA, a Basque separatist organization, it was subsequently discovered that Muslim extremists were the actual perpetrators. At the general election in Spain, the conservative government fell, caused in part by the general perception that it attempted to mislead the public about ETA's role. Over the course of time, scores of additional suspects were arrested, and finally, 28 (mostly Moroccan Arabs and Spaniards) were brought to trial. At the trial's conclusion, 21 were convicted and sentenced to terms of up to 43,000 years. Seven were acquitted. The presumed motive behind the attacks was to induce the government to remove its troops from Afghanistan.

In the early morning rush hour of March 11, 2004, at the Acalá de Henares train station (9 miles from Spain's capital), an unknown number of perpetrators placed 13 explosive devices in four commuter trains and made their escape. Each device, concealed in a sports bag or rucksack, contained up to 22 pounds of trinitrotoluene (TNT), shrapnel, and a detonator that was connected to the alarm function of a mobile phone. All four trains were on the same track, with the final destination of Madrid's Atocha Station. Between 7:38 and 7:42 A.M., 10 bomb explosions took place. Three bombs had failed to explode.

On the first train, three bombs (one per car) detonated at Atocha Station; on the second train, four bombs detonated at Tellez Street, 546 yards from Atocha Station; on the third train, two bombs exploded, but two failed to detonate when the train was at El Pozo Station, in southeast Madrid; and on the last train, located at Santa Eugenia Station on the eastern end of Madrid, one bomb detonated.