Qualla: Zaragoza Barracks Bombing

Zaragoza Barracks Bombing: Introduction

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

At 6:10 on the morning of 11 December 1987, a Guardia Civil officer at the entrance to his barracks on Avenida de Cataluna in Zaragoza watched two men park a Renault 18 directly in front of the building. When he approached to tell them parking was not permitted there, they ran. He understood instantly what was happening and sprinted back inside to wake the families sleeping above. The four-story barracks housed forty Guardia Civil families -- 180 people in total. He did not have enough time.

Zaragoza Barracks Bombing: 250 Kilograms of Ammonal

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Renault contained 250 kilograms of ammonal, a military-grade explosive. When it detonated, the blast tore a massive hole in the building's outer wall and brought all four floors crashing down. The explosion hit neighboring houses as well. Eleven people died, five of them chil...

Zaragoza Barracks Bombing: Five White Coffins

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Zaragoza barracks bombing came barely six months after ETA's deadliest attack: the Hipercor supermarket bombing in Barcelona on 19 June 1987, which killed 21 people and injured 45. Many of the Barcelona victims were women and children burned alive by the intense heat of the e...

Zaragoza Barracks Bombing: The Deadliest Years

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The attack occurred during ETA's most violent period, under the leadership of the faction known as Artapalo, which directed the organization from the late 1980s until 1992. This era produced some of ETA's bloodiest operations, targeting not only security forces but civilian infra...

Zaragoza Barracks Bombing: Remembered in Stone

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In December 2009, a monolith was unveiled at the site of the former barracks to commemorate the eleven victims of the bombing. Each year, wreaths and flowers are laid at the memorial on the anniversary. The Terrorism Victims' Association has held regular ceremonies there, ensurin...