20 years after the March 11 terrorist attacks in Madrid: why did they choose Spain to carry out the attacks?

This happened twenty years ago, more precisely on March 11, 2004 in Madrid, Spain . That morning, four trains exploded in different districts of the capital, causing a total of 191 deaths and nearly 2,000 injuries. .

Such images continue to shock both the European country and the entire world, while Those responsible for planting the bombs were members of a jihadist group inspired by Al-Qaeda .

It is good to remember that This organization is the same as that led by the late Osama Bin Laden and which carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. .

A few weeks after the violent episodes in Spain, On April 3, 2004, some of those involved blew themselves up in an apartment located in a town near Madrid (Leganés), after the police I could corner them .

However, Others were arrested, tried and sentenced to prison terms. .

“These are the largest attacks perpetrated on European soil, with more deaths than the attacks against the Bataclan hall and other entertainment venues in Paris in 2015.” explained to BBC the director of the program on violent radicalization and global terrorism of the Royal Elcano Institute of Spain, Carola García Calvo.

In this sense, he added that “From the Spanish point of view, the attacks highlighted the reality of a terrorist threat which until then had gone unnoticed by public opinion” .

And although the authorities have already dismantled terrorist groups, the expert stressed that “The 11M attacks forced us to reorient all this machinery to face a new threat, now revealed to all of Spanish society” .

“Since then, jihadist terrorism has constituted the main threat weighing on our country” .

García Calvo had predicted that ‘There are many theories’ about why the attackers chose Madrid to carry out the 2004 attacks.

However, he said that Several academic investigations suggest that “the attack plans against Spain emanate from the Moroccan Amer Azizi, an individual who wants revenge for the intense anti-terrorist activity that has developed in the country and the dismantling of what had been his cell “. .

“Al-Qaeda was in this process of decentralization and adhered to Azizi’s plan. It was he who transmitted his instructions to the group which carried out the Madrid attacks. “, said the specialist.

Regarding this, he said that there are intelligence reports according to which They claim he died after an attack by a US drone .

One of the aspects that could also have encouraged them to focus their attention on Spain is linked to the fact that The government at the time supported the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. García Calvo accepted the aforementioned media.

He nevertheless emphasized that “Projects came from before and arise from the initiative of an individual for more specific reasons” .

Regarding the considerations adopted with different countries around the world after the 2004 attacks, the Spanish specialist explained that “One of the fundamental tools we have today is international cooperation to face a phenomenon that transcends all types of borders” .

“March 11 clearly showed that it was possible to improve cooperation not only with our European partners, but also with countries outside Europe “he added.

In this sense, he stressed: “Given that the vast majority of people involved in 11-M had nationalities from North African countries, particularly Morocco, Emphasis was placed on strengthening anti-terrorism cooperation with Maghreb countries, as evidenced by the numerous joint operations carried out with Morocco. during the last years”.

“Indeed This cooperation became much closer following 11-M “.