List of ETA attacks

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This page is a list of attacks undertaken by the Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, or ETA, an armed Basque separatist movement, mainly in Spain.

Repairs to Balmaseda courthouse after bomb, 2006

Madrid Barajas Airport Bombing

The ETA has conducted many high-profile attacks over the years. Among the most significant have been:

• 1961: First ETA attack, an unsuccessful attempt to derail a train.
• 1968: Melitón Manzanas, a secret police chief in the Basque city of San Sebastian, is killed in ETA's first deadly attack.
• December 20, 1973: Prime Minister Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco is assassinated in Madrid in retaliation for the government's execution of Basque separatists.
• September 13, 1974: A bomb is placed inside the "Rolando" cafeteria in Madrid, killing 12 civilians.
• September 1985: First ETA car bomb in Madrid kills an American citizen and wounds 16 Civil Guards.
• July 14, 1986: A car bomb on República Dominicana square in Madrid explodes at the passing of a small bus carrying young Civil Guards, killing 12 of them and injuring 50 people.
• June 19, 1987: A car bomb explodes in the underground car park of an Hipercor supermarket in Barcelona, killing 21 civilians and injuring 45, amongst them several small children.
• December 11, 1987: 250 kg of explosives inside a car bomb explode next to the Civil Guard's Casa Cuartel in Zaragoza, killing 11 people and injuring 40.
• May 29, 1991: A car bomb loaded with 70 kg of explosives is detonated inside the Civil Guard's Casa Cuartel in Vic (Barcelona), which was located next to a school. 10 people are killed (4 of them children) and 28 are injured.
• June 21, 1993: A car bomb explodes at the passing of a military van at the junction of López de Hoyos and Joaquín Costa streets in Madrid, killing 6 soldiers and 1 civilian and injuring 20 people.
• 1995: Assassination plot on King Juan Carlos of Spain failed.
• April 19, 1995: Nearly successful attempt to kill José María Aznar, the leader of Spain's right-wing opposition and future Prime Minister. A car bomb loaded with 40 kg of explosives is detonated at the passing of his official car. He is saved by his vehicle's armor plating but a bystander is killed in the blast.
• December 11, 1995: A car bomb explodes at the passing of military van in the Vallecas borough of Madrid, killing 6 civilians who worked for the Army.
• 1997: Abduction of Basque councilor Miguel Angel Blanco, prompting six million Spaniards to join mass demonstrations against ETA. The organization asks the government to relocate all imprisoned ETA members in prisons closer to the Basque Country in 48 hours. When the government does not accept this demand, Miguel Angel Blanco is executed.
• December 21-22, 1999: The Spanish Civil Guard intercepts a Madrid-bound van driven by ETA members and loaded with 950 kg of explosives near Calatayud (Zaragoza); the next day, another van loaded with 750 kg is found not far from there. The incident is known as "la caravana de la muerte" (the caravan of death). Shortly after 9/11, ETA confirmed their plan had been to use those 1,700 kg to blow down Torre Picasso (online report with video in Spanish).
• December 18, 2000: A bomb is placed inside an elevator of the Faculty of Journalism of the University of the Basque Country in Lejona (Vizcaya). The bomb was detected in time by Prof. Edurne Uriarte's bodyguard, and then deactivated.
• May 12, 2001: Thirteen people are injured when a car bomb explodes in Madrid days before regional elections in the Basque County. Eight minutes before the bomb exploded, an anonymous ETA caller warned authorities.
• May 24, 2001: Santiago Oleaga Elejabarrieta, 54, the chief financial officer of El Diario Vasco (The Basque Daily), the most widely circulated newspaper in Guipúzcoa, dies instantly after being shot in the head. The attack was likely motivated by the anti-ETA editorials of 'El Diario. Thousands of Spaniards participate in a silent march through San Sebastian to protest the killing of journalist Santiago Oleaga Elejabarrieta. Banners are held that read "No to ETA – Peace And Freedom." Spanish reporters release a statement with the words "However much they kill and try to impose their cause through terror we, as media professionals, will defend the freedom of expression that took so long to achieve in this country."
• July 10, 2001: Luis Ortiz de la Rosa, 33, a police officer, is killed at 8:30 p.m. in a southern neighborhood in Madrid when a car bomb explodes. The blast also injures twelve. A call from ETA 45 minutes before had been made, and police were clearing the area when the bomb detonated.
• July 14, 2001: Twin attacks by ETA claim the lives of two within hours of each other. Jose Javier Múgica, 50, a regional councilor and member of the center-right Union of the People of Navarra party, dies after a car bomb is placed in his van in the northern village of Leiza; Mikel Uribe, 44, a police officer from the General Inspection Unit (Internal Affairs) of the Ertzaintza, dies after being shot from behind in his car in the town of Leaburu. CNN reports that hundreds of Spaniards have gathered in city and town halls around Spain to silently protest two killings blamed on the "Basque terrorist group ETA". The cities include Pamplona, Vitoria and Zaragoza.
• July 27, 2001: Three people were injured at 2:30 a.m. when a powerful explosion occurred in front of the La Caixa bank in downtown Madrid. In the same day, Spanish authorities deactivated what was described as a "massive" car bomb in an airport in Malaga, a major tourist destination. An ETA caller warned ahead of time that the bomb was set.
• August 27, 2001: Days after a series of raids, ETA warns the authorities about a bomb they set to explode at around 8 a.m. in Madrid Barajas Airport. The 40 to 50 kg of explosives placed inside a stolen car explode on the second floor of Terminal 2 (national flights) car park, causing only material damage.
• September 2, 2001: A home-made bomb explodes at 9 a.m. in Vitoria in an electronics store owned by an officer of the Ertzaintza regional police force. The bomb damages cars but causes no personal injuries.
• August 4, 2002 : Car bomb explodes outside the Civil Guard's casa cuartel in Santa Pola and kills two people, a six-year-old girl and a 54 year old man, and injuring 40 people.
• 22 December 2002: Ibon Fernandez Iradi, who is suspected of teaching ETA members how to manufacture IEDs, escapes from custody in a police station in Bayonne.
• May 30, 2003: A car bomb in Navarre kills two policemen and wounds a civilian.
• December 24, 2003: ETA attempts to blow 50 kg of explosives inside Madrid's busy Chamartín Station at 3:55 p.m. on Christmas Eve. The police thwarted the attempt when they stopped Garikoitz Arruarte trying to load 28 kg of explosives into a Madrid-bound train in San Sebastián. Another bomb with over 20 kg of explosives was then found inside a second train passing near Burgos, already several hundred kilometers on its way to Madrid.
• September 27, 2004: ETA militants send a videotape to Gara, a Basque newspaper based in Gipuzkoa, in which the militants state that ETA would continue to fight for Basque self-determination and that ETA would "respond with arms against those who deny us through the force of arms." This videotape represented ETA's first major public statement since the 11 March attacks. During the weekend preceding the videotape release, the group claimed responsibility for a series of bombings that had hampered electricity transmission between France and Spain.
• December 3, 2004: ETA bombs 5 petrol stations in the Madrid area. Due to a telephoned warning, the areas were evacuated and no one was injured.
• December 6, 2004: On Spanish Constitution Day, ETA detonated seven bombs in bars, cafes and town squares across Spain.
• December 12, 2004: The Real Madrid Santiago Bernabéu stadium football Stadium was evacuated due to a phone-in bomb threat on behalf of ETA. The bomb—expected to blow up at 9:00 p.m.—does not explode, and the 69,000 spectators of the match are safely evacuated by the Spanish Police at 8:45 p.m.
• February 9, 2005: ETA blows a white Renault 19 car with 30 kg of cloratite. The car was placed to the side of the building of Steria Iberica, in Madrid. A total of 42 people resulted with minor injuries.
• February 27, 2005: A small bomb exploded at a resort hotel in Villajoyosa after a telephoned warning. The building was evacuated and no one was injured. The explosion damaged only a small house near the residence's swimming pool.
• September 24, 2005: ETA suspected of a car bomb attack in the northern Spanish province of Avila.^{[citation needed]}
• December 6, 2005: On Spanish Constitution Day, ETA detonated five bombs along Madrid highways. No injuries were reported. Also, in northern Spain, Santander Airport was closed following a threat of an attack using grenade launchers.
• December 18, 2005: ETA detonated a bomb inside an eel cannery in Irura, Guipúzcoa. No injuries were reported although the cannery suffered extensive damage. The police reports that the bombing is part of an extensive extortion campaign of ETA to Basque business owners.
• December 21, 2005: ETA detonated a bomb inside a van in the back alley of a nightclub in Santesteban, Navarre. No injuries were reported. The nightclub suffered extensive structural damages and some buildings around it suffered damages too.
• January 26, 2006: ETA detonated a bomb beside the court of justice of Balmaseda and another one in the premises of Correos postal service in Etxebarri, both in Biscay, causing material damages and no personal injuries.
• February 14, 2006: A car bomb exploded at a discotheque in northern Spain causing damage but no injuries because police had cleared the area after a traditional warning call in the name of the Basque separatist group ETA. [3].
• March 5, 2006: Following the February 2006 deaths of ETA members Igor Miguel Angulo Iturrate, aged 32 (due to an apparent suicide by hanging), and Ricardo Sainz Olmos, aged 41 (as a result of an apparent heart attack), Batasuna together with the union Langile Abertzaleen Batzordeak call a day of protest and general strike on March 9.[4] On the morning of the strike, ETA detonates several bombs near highways, causing no injuries.
• March 22, 2006: ETA declares a "permanent ceasefire" after nearly 40 years fighting for independence from Spanish and French authorities. "Euskadi Ta Askatasuna has decided to declare a permanent ceasefire as of 0000 (2300GMT) on 24 March 2006".^{[citation needed]}
• December 30, 2006: A bomb attack at terminal T4 of Madrid Barajas airport. Two Ecuadorian immigrants (Diego Armando Estacio Civizapa and Carlos Alonso Palate), who were napping inside their cars in the parking garage die as a consequence of the explosion.
• June 5, 2007: ETA announces that the ceasefire is over.
• June 30, 2007: An apparently hoaxed ETA bomb threat calls in to Basque newspaper Gara leads to the evacuation of the Ibiza airport. Police find two suspicious items in the airport car park: a shoe box and a backpack. A bomb-investigating robot found the shoe box to be empty; the backpack was destroyed by controlled explosion.
• July 10, 2007: A suspected ETA member is arrested at the bus station in Santander, Spain armed with a gun, fake ID, bomb components and plans of at least two targets including the ferry terminal connecting Santander to Plymouth. Some media reported the Santander-Plymouth ferry was the target, although according to the The Plymouth Evening Herald, this was not the case. [5]
• July 25, 2007: Two small bombs, claimed to be from ETA, exploded along the Tour de France route in Spain, there were no injuries reported.
• August 24, 2007: A van bomb explodes in front of Civil Guard's cuartel in Durango, injuring two Guardia Civil officers. Another car bomb, supposed to be the one used to run away, explodes minutes later in Amorebieta.
• August 25, 2007: ETA kidnaps a family and steals their Camper Van. Later, they carried the Van with explosives and detonated it in an olive grove near Castellon after being faced with the police. ETA had been planning to use the explosives for imminent attacks. The family was freed some days later.
• September 2, 2007: An small bomb explodes in Fuenmayor, La Rioja, no injuries.
• September 9, 2007: Huge ETA car bomb fails to go off outside regional Defense ministry in Logroño.
• October 9, 2007: A car bomb explodes in the La Pena area of Bilbao, injuring one.
• December 1, 2007: Three gunmen kill one Spanish civil guard and mortally wounded another (who died 4 days later) in Capbreton, France. The gunmen escaped in a car, later commandeering a second in their getaway.
• March 7, 2008: An ETA gunman kills Isaías Carrasco, former town councilor for Mondragón, on his way to work, two days before the General Elections.
• March 21, 2008: A car bomb explodes outside a Guardia Civil barracks in Calahorra, Rioja, injuring one policeman lightly and causing extensive property damage.[6]
• March 30, 2008: Two small bombs exploded near Azpeitia with minor damage near a television transmitter. No injuries were reported. [7]
• April 17, 2008: A bomb blast outside the office of Spain's ruling Socialist party in Bilbao, was blamed on Basque separatist group ETA after a traditional phone call to DYA, and caused serious damage to the building but no casualties.[8]. However, 7 policemen were injured. [9].
• April 19, 2008: For the second time in three days, a bomb went off in northern Spain Sunday preceded by a warning call by the Basque separatist group ETA. The blast damaged the recreation center of the ruling Socialist Party in the Basque town of Elgoibar. No one was hurt.[10].
• May 1, 2008: Three bombs blamed by police on Basque separatist group ETA exploded early Thursday in northern Spain's Basque region, causing damage but no reports of casualties. The bombs are rumored to be a response to the arrest and jailing of ANV mayor Inocencia Galparsoro, the Mayor of Mondragón. [11]
  • The first -- and largest -- explosion in an industrial pavilion for Spain's Ministry of Labor in the Basque town of Arrigorriaga.
  • The other two bombs exploded half an hour later near a Basque regional government labor institute in the large Basque city of Donostia-San Sebastian. These two were preceded by warning calls, thus causing little damage, according to the spokesman. [12] [13]
• May 12, 2008: Two small bombs have damaged construction equipment in an attack claimed by the Basque separatist group. Basque Interior Ministry says in a statement that the bombs targeted bulldozers at a construction site in Hernani, near Donostia-San Sebastian, but no one was hurt. ETA admitted responsibility for a bomb attack on a construction site for the region's new AVE high-speed train network[14] [15]

A Ertzaintza car in front of Real Club Marítimo on May 19, a day after a van bomb exploded

• May 14, 2008: A bomb placed in a van exploded at 3am outside the Civil Guard barracks at Legutiano, Álava, killing one policeman, Juan Manuel Piñuel Villalón, and injuring four. [16] [17] On May 30, ETA claimed responsibility. [18]
• May 19, 2008: At 00:50 CET, a bomb placed in a van exploded in front of the Real Club Marítimo in the neighborhood of Las Arenas - Areeta in Getxo, Biscay, usual meeting point of businessmen and politicians, causing no human losses. A call to the Basque road emergency service, DYA, one hour before had alerted of the forthcoming explosion. [19]
• June 1, 2008: Following a warning call, at around 2:30 am early Sunday morning, a blast occurred outside the headquarters of a construction company, Construcciones Amenabar, in the town of Zarautz. There were casualties, though two people suffered ear damage from the noise of the explosion. [20]
• June 8, 2008: A bomb detonated at the presses of El Correo near the port city of Bilbao at about 3 a.m damaging the printing facilities of the Basque newspaper as people worked inside, but no one was reported injured. While ETA have not yet laid claim to this attack, it is rumored to be the doing of ETA. [21]