2008 Getxo bombing
Encyclopedia
The 2008 Getxo
bombing occurred on May 19, 2008, when a van bomb
went off outside a boat club
in the town of Getxo, Biscay
in the Basque Country
, Spain
. The attack caused serious damage to the club, as well as nearby buildings and structures. No one was killed or injured after a warning call from the Basque separatist
organisation ETA
. On May 31, the organisation claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Five days before the attack, another ETA car bomb in a Civil Guard
barracks in Legutiano, Álava
killed a Civil Guard member and injured four. Both attacks were blamed on the Biscay cell of ETA led by Arkaitz Goikoetxea Basabe
, which was most active after the end of the 2006 ceasefire
, and was responsible for several attacks in the region during 2007 and 2008. Most of the cell members, as well as the participants in the attack, were arrested in July 2008.
The attack came hours before a meeting by Spanish Primer Minister
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
and Basque lehendakari Juan José Ibarretxe
to discuss on the Basque Conflict
. On the same day of the attack, a memorial service for victims of terrorism was held in San Sebastián
.
, has been the place of several ETA attacks during the Basque conflict, with most of the attacks being carried out in the Las Arenas neighbourhood, home to many businessmen and entrepreneur
s. In 2000, a car bomb injured seven on June 25, and four people were wounded in another car bomb attack on July 24. On January 22, 2001, Ertzaintza
members deactivated a car bomb and judge Jose Maria Lidón Corbi was shot dead on November 7. On April 20, 2002 a car bomb exploded in front of the house of a businessman, who had been kidnapped in 1996. A bomb exploded inside a hotel on June 23, 2003, while another car bomb went off on January 18, 2005, injuring one. On November 11, 2007, two booby trap bombs
failed to explode in front of a courthouse
. The same boat club had already been attacked by bombs on March 12, 1969 and on December 30, 1971. On November 26, 1973 six ETA members set on fire
to the club.
2008 was ETA's deadliest year since the end of the 2006 ceasefire. In mid 2006, the organisation declared a ceasefire, and conversations between Batasuna
, ETA and the Basque and Spanish governments started. Peace talks ended in December, when ETA broke the truce with a massive car bomb
at the Madrid-Barajas Airport. ETA officially ended the ceasefire in 2007, and resumed its attacks around Spain. At the same time, dozens of members were arrested by Spanish and French police. Despite that, the organisation did not lose the capacity of carrying out attacks.
, the same model used in the Legutiano attack, was stolen in Getxo on the same morning of the attack by a cell formed by Arkaitz Goikoetxea Basabe and fellow ETA member Aitor Artetxe Rodríguez. The car was property of a company owned by a former member of ETA, Xabier Izko de la Iglesia, who had been sentenced in the 1970 Burgos
trial. The car was then loaded with 60 kg of ammonal
, a kind of explosive usually used by ETA. The car also contained shrapnel shell in order to increase the destructive power. The explosive device had been obtained in the town of Ezcaray
, La Rioja
and was similar to an abandoned bomb found in Getxo on January 31, 2008.
At 23:55, Goikoetxea phoned the DYA headquarters, a Basque roadside assistance
association, in Bilbao on behalf of ETA, to alert that a car bomb would go off in Getxo: "Listen carefully, I'm calling on behalf of ETA. In one hour, a van bomb is going to explode in the seafront walk, next to the boat club of Getxo. Do you understand? Freedom for the Basque Country. Long live ETA". According to reports, the warning call was made from a telephone box
located 500 meters from the boat club. A few minutes later, a worker from the club spotted two hooded people
, abandoning a vehicle in the middle of the road. Once Ertzaintza officers spotted the vehicle, the area was cordoned off and people evacuated from nearby houses. A family reported to have not been warned of the detonation.
At 00:50, ten minutes before the time the caller had given, the device went off. The detonation tore a hole in the ground and caused considerable damage to the club. Several floors of the building were ripped open and it suffered serious structural damage. Nearby houses and buildings were also affected by the explosion, which was heard in most of the towns around the Estuary of Bilbao
. According to the Spanish High Court
, 114 people were affected in some way by the attack.
After the attack, Ertzaintza kept the area cordoned off, while looking for other possible bombs. Meanwhile, Goikoetxea headed to Leioa
and met Artetxe in a nearby mountain, where they would stay the whole night. By the morning, no other devices had been found and people were able to return to their homes.
president Íñigo Urkullu stated that "once again ETA tried to unreasonably become the judge of the Spanish politics" and Partido Popular
president Mariano Rajoy
gave his support to the government of Spain in its fight against ETA. Most of the political parties also condemned the attack, with Aralar
stating that "ETA is an obstacle towards the peace that Euskal Herria (Basque Country) demands".
, while two other people were held in Fuengirola
, Málaga
and in Nigran
, Pontevedra
.The operation, which was led by judge Baltasar Garzón
, also ended with the arrest of Gaizka Jareño Ugarriza, Adur Aristegi Aragon, Iñigo Gutierrez, Aitor Kotano Sinde, Libe Agirre Mazaga, Maialen Zuazo y Ana Isabel Prieto Fundarena. Senior members of the cell, such as Jurdan Martitegi
or Asier Borrero were not arrested. The cell was going to carry out another car bomb attack in Getxo on July 31 and had plans to attack the Bilbao Exhibition Centre
, as well as judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
Aitor Artetxe was another cell member on the run until he was arrested in the French town of Gerde
, Hautes-Pyrénées
on December 8, 2008. On the same operation, head of the military commandos Aitzol Iriondo was also arrested, as well as another senior member of ETA, Eneko Zarrabeitia Salterain.
On August 19, 2009, judge Santiago Pedraz prosecuted Goikoetxea and Artetxe for the attack.
Getxo
Getxo is a town located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in the north of Spain.It is part of the metropolitan area of Bilbao , and has about 83,000 inhabitants...
bombing occurred on May 19, 2008, when a van bomb
Car bomb
A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
went off outside a boat club
Yacht club
A yacht club is a sports club specifically related to sailing and yachting.-Description:Yacht Clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there are some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations...
in the town of Getxo, Biscay
Biscay
Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...
in the Basque Country
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. The attack caused serious damage to the club, as well as nearby buildings and structures. No one was killed or injured after a warning call from the Basque separatist
Basque nationalism
Basque nationalism is a political movement advocating for either further political autonomy or, chiefly, full independence of the Basque Country in the wider sense...
organisation ETA
ETA
ETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...
. On May 31, the organisation claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Five days before the attack, another ETA car bomb in a Civil Guard
Civil Guard (Spain)
The Civil Guard is the Spanish gendarmerie. It has foreign peace-keeping missions and maintains military status and is the equivalent of a federal military-status police force. As a police force, the Guardia Civil is comparable today to the French Gendarmerie, the Italian Carabinieri and the...
barracks in Legutiano, Álava
Álava
Álava is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Álava. Its capital city is Vitoria-Gasteiz which is also the capital of the autonomous community...
killed a Civil Guard member and injured four. Both attacks were blamed on the Biscay cell of ETA led by Arkaitz Goikoetxea Basabe
ETA
ETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...
, which was most active after the end of the 2006 ceasefire
ETA's 2006 ceasefire declaration
The ETA's 2006 "permanent ceasefire" was the period spanning between 24 March and 30 December 2006 during which, following an ETA communiqué, the Spanish government, led by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero on one side, and the militant group on the other, engaged in talks as a means to agree on a...
, and was responsible for several attacks in the region during 2007 and 2008. Most of the cell members, as well as the participants in the attack, were arrested in July 2008.
The attack came hours before a meeting by Spanish Primer Minister
Prime Minister of Spain
The President of the Government of Spain , sometimes known in English as the Prime Minister of Spain, is the head of Government of Spain. The current office is established under the Constitution of 1978...
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party . He was elected for two terms as Prime Minister of Spain, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. On 2 April 2011 he announced he will not stand for re-election in 2012...
and Basque lehendakari Juan José Ibarretxe
Juan José Ibarretxe
Juan José Ibarretxe Markuartu is a Basque politician of Spain. A leading member of the Basque Nationalist Party , he was President of Spain's Basque Country autonomous community from January 2, 1999 to May 7, 2009....
to discuss on the Basque Conflict
Basque conflict
The Basque conflict, also known as the Spain–ETA conflict, was an armed conflict between the Spanish state, France and the Basque National Liberation Movement, a group of social and political Basque organizations which seeked independence from Spain and France...
. On the same day of the attack, a memorial service for victims of terrorism was held in San Sebastián
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
.
Background
Getxo, a wealthy seaside suburb near the city of BilbaoBilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
, has been the place of several ETA attacks during the Basque conflict, with most of the attacks being carried out in the Las Arenas neighbourhood, home to many businessmen and entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
s. In 2000, a car bomb injured seven on June 25, and four people were wounded in another car bomb attack on July 24. On January 22, 2001, Ertzaintza
Ertzaintza
The Ertzaintza , is the police force of the Basque Country, one of the autonomous communities of Spain. An Ertzaintza member is an ertzaina .- Origins :...
members deactivated a car bomb and judge Jose Maria Lidón Corbi was shot dead on November 7. On April 20, 2002 a car bomb exploded in front of the house of a businessman, who had been kidnapped in 1996. A bomb exploded inside a hotel on June 23, 2003, while another car bomb went off on January 18, 2005, injuring one. On November 11, 2007, two booby trap bombs
Booby trap
A booby trap is a device designed to harm or surprise a person, unknowingly triggered by the presence or actions of the victim. As the word trap implies, they often have some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. However, in other cases the device is placed on busy roads or is...
failed to explode in front of a courthouse
Courthouse
A courthouse is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English speaking countries, buildings which house courts of law are simply...
. The same boat club had already been attacked by bombs on March 12, 1969 and on December 30, 1971. On November 26, 1973 six ETA members set on fire
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
to the club.
2008 was ETA's deadliest year since the end of the 2006 ceasefire. In mid 2006, the organisation declared a ceasefire, and conversations between Batasuna
Batasuna
Batasuna was a Basque nationalist political party based mainly in Spain, where it was outlawed in 2003, after a court ruling declared proven that the party was financing ETA with public money. Batasuna is included in the "European Union list of terrorist persons and organizations" as a component...
, ETA and the Basque and Spanish governments started. Peace talks ended in December, when ETA broke the truce with a massive car bomb
2006 Madrid Barajas International 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...
at the Madrid-Barajas Airport. ETA officially ended the ceasefire in 2007, and resumed its attacks around Spain. At the same time, dozens of members were arrested by Spanish and French police. Despite that, the organisation did not lose the capacity of carrying out attacks.
Attack
The vehicle, a Citroën BerlingoCitroën Berlingo
The Citroën Berlingo is a panel van and leisure activity vehicle produced by the French manufacturer Citroën since 1996. It was based on the Citroën ZX/Peugeot 306 estate floorpan and mechanicals...
, the same model used in the Legutiano attack, was stolen in Getxo on the same morning of the attack by a cell formed by Arkaitz Goikoetxea Basabe and fellow ETA member Aitor Artetxe Rodríguez. The car was property of a company owned by a former member of ETA, Xabier Izko de la Iglesia, who had been sentenced in the 1970 Burgos
Burgos
Burgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...
trial. The car was then loaded with 60 kg of ammonal
Ammonal
Ammonal is an explosive made up of ammonium nitrate, trinitrotoluene , and aluminium powder.The ammonium nitrate functions as an oxidizer and aluminium as a power enhancer. To some extent the aluminium makes it more sensitive to detonation...
, a kind of explosive usually used by ETA. The car also contained shrapnel shell in order to increase the destructive power. The explosive device had been obtained in the town of Ezcaray
Ezcaray
Ezcaray is a town and municipality in the Oja Valley in the La Rioja region of northern Spain.The name is of Basque origin.The town is situated at the base of the San Lorenzo peak and is 13 km from the Valdezcaray ski area.-External links:*...
, La Rioja
La Rioja (Spain)
La Rioja is an autonomous community and a province of northern Spain. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and Nájera.-History:...
and was similar to an abandoned bomb found in Getxo on January 31, 2008.
At 23:55, Goikoetxea phoned the DYA headquarters, a Basque roadside assistance
Breakdown cover
Breakdown cover is a service that provides assistance to motorists whose vehicles have suffered a mechanical failure that is significant enough to leave them stranded at their present location....
association, in Bilbao on behalf of ETA, to alert that a car bomb would go off in Getxo: "Listen carefully, I'm calling on behalf of ETA. In one hour, a van bomb is going to explode in the seafront walk, next to the boat club of Getxo. Do you understand? Freedom for the Basque Country. Long live ETA". According to reports, the warning call was made from a telephone box
Telephone booth
A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box or telephone box is a small structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience. In the USA, Canada and Australia, "telephone booth" is used, while in the UK and the rest of the Commonwealth it is a "telephone...
located 500 meters from the boat club. A few minutes later, a worker from the club spotted two hooded people
Hoodie
A hoodie is a sweatshirt with a hood. The characteristic design includes large frontal pockets, a hood, and a drawstring to adjust the hood opening. They are sometimes worn with sweatpants. Some hoodies have zippers on them to allow easy removal much like a jacket...
, abandoning a vehicle in the middle of the road. Once Ertzaintza officers spotted the vehicle, the area was cordoned off and people evacuated from nearby houses. A family reported to have not been warned of the detonation.
At 00:50, ten minutes before the time the caller had given, the device went off. The detonation tore a hole in the ground and caused considerable damage to the club. Several floors of the building were ripped open and it suffered serious structural damage. Nearby houses and buildings were also affected by the explosion, which was heard in most of the towns around the Estuary of Bilbao
Estuary of Bilbao
The Estuary of Bilbao lies at the common mouth of the rivers Nervion, Ibaizabal and Cadagua, that drain most of Biscay and part of Alava in the Basque Country, Spain. It is a large estuary long that extends from Bilbao to the Bilbao Abra bay, a widening that makes the final transition between...
. According to the Spanish High Court
Audiencia Nacional of Spain
The Audiencia Nacional is a a special and exceptional high court in Spain. It has its seat in Madrid and jurisdiction over all of Spain and international crimes which come under the competence of Spanish courts....
, 114 people were affected in some way by the attack.
After the attack, Ertzaintza kept the area cordoned off, while looking for other possible bombs. Meanwhile, Goikoetxea headed to Leioa
Leioa
Leioa is a municipality in Biscay, Basque Country, in northern Spain. Today it is part of the Bilbao conurbation, and it is the name of a metro station in the Bilbao metro...
and met Artetxe in a nearby mountain, where they would stay the whole night. By the morning, no other devices had been found and people were able to return to their homes.
Aftermath
Many authorities and politicians condemned the attack. Basque Nationalist PartyBasque Nationalist Party
The Basque National Party is the largest and oldest Basque nationalist party. It is currently the largest political party in the Basque Autonomous Community also with a minor presence in Navarre and a marginal one in the French Basque Country...
president Íñigo Urkullu stated that "once again ETA tried to unreasonably become the judge of the Spanish politics" and Partido Popular
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
president Mariano Rajoy
Mariano Rajoy
Mariano Rajoy Brey is a Spanish People's Party politician and is the Prime Minister-elect since 20 November 2011. He will be sworn into office in mid-December 2011....
gave his support to the government of Spain in its fight against ETA. Most of the political parties also condemned the attack, with Aralar
Aralar Party
Aralar is a Basque socialist and separatist political party in Spain. The party is led by Patxi Zabaleta. It is opposed to the violent struggle of ETA....
stating that "ETA is an obstacle towards the peace that Euskal Herria (Basque Country) demands".
Arrest
On July 22, 2008, the Civil Guard dismantled the Biscay cell, with the arrest of nine members of ETA, including Goikoetxea. Most of the arrests were made in Bilbao, Getxo and ElorrioElorrio
Elorrio is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, northern Spain.-Geography:...
, while two other people were held in Fuengirola
Fuengirola
Fuengirola, in ancient times known as Suel and then Suhayl, is a large town and municipality on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga, autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is a major tourist resort, with more than 8 km of beaches, and home to a mediæval Moorish fortress...
, Málaga
Málaga
Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
and in Nigran
Nigrán
Nigrán is a municipality of Galicia, Spain in the province of Pontevedra, near Vigo, the most important town in Galicia.- External links :******...
, Pontevedra
Pontevedra (province)
Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia...
.The operation, which was led by judge Baltasar Garzón
Baltasar Garzón
Baltasar Garzón Real is a Spanish jurist who served on Spain's central criminal court, the Audiencia Nacional. He was the examining magistrate of the Juzgado Central de Instrucción No...
, also ended with the arrest of Gaizka Jareño Ugarriza, Adur Aristegi Aragon, Iñigo Gutierrez, Aitor Kotano Sinde, Libe Agirre Mazaga, Maialen Zuazo y Ana Isabel Prieto Fundarena. Senior members of the cell, such as Jurdan Martitegi
Jurdan Martitegi
Jurdan Martitegi Lizaso is a member of the armed Basque nationalist and separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna . He is best known as the head of the military/commando unit of the group since late 2008 until April 18, 2009, when he was arrested by French police...
or Asier Borrero were not arrested. The cell was going to carry out another car bomb attack in Getxo on July 31 and had plans to attack the Bilbao Exhibition Centre
Bilbao Exhibition Centre
The Bilbao Exhibition Centre Is the headquarters of the Feria de Muestras de Bilbao. Its facilities are located on land formerly occupied by the company Altos Hornos de Vizcaya in the neighbourhood of Ansio in the Vizcaina de Barcaldo Resort Bilbao of Baracaldo in The Basque Country, Spain...
, as well as judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
Aitor Artetxe was another cell member on the run until he was arrested in the French town of Gerde
Gerde, Hautes-Pyrénées
Gerde is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France.-References:*...
, Hautes-Pyrénées
Hautes-Pyrénées
Hautes-Pyrénées is a department in southwestern France. It is part of the Midi-Pyrénées region.-History:...
on December 8, 2008. On the same operation, head of the military commandos Aitzol Iriondo was also arrested, as well as another senior member of ETA, Eneko Zarrabeitia Salterain.
On August 19, 2009, judge Santiago Pedraz prosecuted Goikoetxea and Artetxe for the attack.