2022 Spain letter bomb attacks

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In late November and early December 2022, a number of letter bombs were mailed to locations across Spain.

Timeline

On 24 November 2022, a letter bomb, addressed to the Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez, arrived at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain. The bomb was destroyed in a controlled explosion, with no injuries reported.[1][2][3]

On 30 November 2022, further letter bombs were mailed. The first was mailed to the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid, exploding when a security officer opened it in the garden of the embassy, leaving a "very small wound" on one finger.[4][5] The arms manufacturer, Instalaza, in Zaragoza, north-east of Madrid, received a similar package hours later.[2][6][7]

On 1 December 2022, before dawn, another letter bomb was intercepted after being detected by a scanner, at the Torrejon Air Base near Madrid. The package was addressed to the European Union Satellite Centre at the base.[2] On the same day, an additional letter bomb was received at the Defence Ministry, and was defused.[1] A sixth letter bomb was sent to the U.S. embassy in Madrid.[8]

Analysis and response

Each of the letter bombs were reportedly similar, in brown envelopes addressed to the heads of each institution. The devices consisted of loose gunpowder with an electrical ignition mechanism, resulting in a burning, rather than exploding effect.[1] An official, Rosa Serrano, told radio station SER that the packages sent to both the Ukrainian embassy and Instalaza had the same return address.[2]

In response to the letter bomb attacks, Spanish authorities increased security measures at public and diplomatic buildings.[1][9] The Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba ordered that the security of all Ukrainian embassies be increased, and urged Spain to investigate the attack.[4] Spain's High Court was reported to have opened an investigation for a possible case of terrorism.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Reuters (2022-12-01). "Spain's PM sent letter bomb similar to device that injured Ukraine embassy official". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-12-01. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  2. ^ a b c d Brennan, Al Goodman,Eve (2022-12-01). "Spain boosts security as prime minister targeted amid series of letter bombs". CNN. Retrieved 2022-12-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Staff, Our Foreign (2022-12-01). "Letter bomb sent to Spanish Prime Minister". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  4. ^ a b "Letter bomb sent to Ukraine's embassy in Madrid injures security officer". ABC News. 2022-11-30. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  5. ^ "Letter bomb explodes at Ukrainian embassy in Madrid". POLITICO. 2022-11-30. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  6. ^ Reuters (2022-12-01). "Ukraine embassy, Spanish arms company receive letter bombs -police". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-12-01. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  7. ^ "Spain: 2 new letter bombs detected after Ukraine blast". ABC News. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  8. ^ "Detonan una sexta carta con material explosivo remitida a la embajada de EEUU en Madrid". La Sexta (in Spanish). 2022-12-01. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  9. ^ "Spain steps up security as Prime Minister's office targeted in spate of letter-bombs". Arab News. 2022-12-01. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  10. ^ "Spain PM got letter similar to one which exploded at Ukraine embassy". France 24. 2022-12-01. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
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