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News, March 2004ETA bombing thwarted in Madrid with discovery of explosive-laden van1 March 2 ETA terrorists were detained on Saturday night (28th Feb) after the discovery of 532kg explosives in a van in Cuenca, headed for Madrid. The second man was in another van a few miles ahead, but had an accident and was thus also discovered.The first van was found to have the second largest charge ever found. So a potentially disastrous attack has been thwarted, the charge being virtually ready for use as a car bomb. The detention may have been through a regular Saturday night roadside check. 2 March. A third person, closely related to the two van drivers, was arrested this morning. He is an employee of the local town council in Llodio, the Basque Country.The van drivers have confessed to belonging to ETA and that they planned to plant the van bomb in an industrial estate on the Madrid-Alcalá road, possibly very close to the airport and perhaps outside one of the big daily papers' offices. This past week, a scandal broke out over the release from jail of six presumed ETA members. The judge, Ruiz Polanco, is now subject to investigation by other judicial authorities to assess if the decision was correct. Time had run out while police could not find enough evidence to detain them longer. Habeas Corpus laws already allow longer detention on accusation of terrorism. More about the Basque problem: http://www.prayforspain.com/comment/index3.html or Go to News theme: Basque politics and ETA |