2009 Palma Nova bombing
| 2009 Palma Nova bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Basque conflict | |
| Location | Palma Nova, Calvià, Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain |
| Date | July 30, 2009 1:50 pm (UTC+2) |
| Target | Civil Guard barracks |
|
Attack type
|
limpet bomb |
| Deaths | 2 |
| Perpetrators | ETA |
The 2009 Palma Nova bombing occurred on July 30, 2009, when a limpet bomb went off outside a Civil Guard barracks in the town of Palma Nova, Majorca, Spain. The bomb was placed under a patrol car and two Civil Guard officers died as a result of the explosion. A second device was found under another Civil Guard vehicle at nearby barracks and safely exploded by police. On August 9, the Basque nationalist and separatist organisation ETA claimed responsibility for the attack, while four other bombs exploded around restaurants and shopping centres in Palma, Majorca, causing no injuries.
The bombing was ETA's first attack in Majorca since it tried to kill King Juan Carlos I in the summer of 1995, and its deadliest attack since it killed two Civil Guard officers in Capbreton, France in 2007. The attack came on the eve of the 50th anniversary of ETA's founding, and days before the King's yearly visit to Majorca.
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.
In 2009, Patxi López became the first non-nationalist lendakari since the 1979 Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country. On June 19, ETA killed inspector Eduardo Puelles García in Arrigorriaga near Bilbao, Biscay, when a bomb attached to his car exploded , and on July 9, a powerful bomb exploded in a Socialist Workers' Party local office in Durango, Biscay, causing no injuries. In late July, it was reported that ETA was preparing its "summer campaign", with Spanish police looking for several vans the organisation had ready to explode. On July 29, a van loaded with 300 kilograms (660 lb) of explosives went off in front of a Civil Guard barracks in Burgos, injuring 70, including women and children.
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