2006 Madrid-Barajas Airport bombing

The 2006 Madrid-Barajas Airport bombing occurred on December 30, 2006 when a van bomb exploded in the parking of the Terminal 4 of the Madrid-Barajas Airport in Spain, killing two and injuring 52. On January 9, 2007, the Basque nationalist and separatist organisation ETA claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack, one of the most powerful carried out by ETA, damaged the airport terminal and blew up the whole parking. The bombing ended a nine-month ceasefire declared by the armed organisation and prompted the government to halt plans for negotiations with the organisation. Despite the attack, ETA claimed that the ceasefire was still in place and regretted the death of civilians. The organisation eventually announced the end of the ceasefire in June 2007.

Ordered and planned by then head of commandos Mikel Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina alias Txeroki, the attack was carried out by the "commando Elurra", whose members were arrested in early 2008 and sentenced for the attack in May 2010. Txeroki was arrested in November 2008 and is awaiting trial for the bombing.

Background

On March 22, 2006 ETA announced a ceasefire. Following the announcement, the Spanish government led by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero on one side and the armed organisation, as well as Batasuna, a Basque nationalist party banned for its ties with ETA, on the other, engaged in talks in order to put an end to the conflict between the two sides. The Basque Nationalist Party, then in charge of the......
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