Spain's September 11 [UPDATED]

This is all over the 'net and the news, and I really don't having anything more to add. It appears that the ETA is responsible - we don't know just yet. If they were, they just made the biggest mistake they ever could have. They are now on the same level as Al-Qaeda, and gentlemen, that is not a playing field you want to be on.

Inside Europe, Back Seat Drivers, Secular Blasphemy, and Instapundit (as always) have more.

Command Post notes that CNN and FOX are reporting that al-Qaeda is taking credit for this morning's attacks.

United Press International gives some weight to the al-Qaeda claims:

First, ETA generally warns Spanish authorities moments before launching their attacks in which civilians are likely to be harmed. This, obviously, was not the case on Thursday.

Second, ETA traditionally targets representatives of the government or the administration, such as policemen, the military, magistrates or even journalists who oppose them.

Third, ETA customarily selects "symbolic" targets, such as military barracks and administrative buildings. Although ETA's largest attack to date was in 1987 against a supermarket in Barcelona that killed 21 people, this was the exception rather than the norm.

Fourth, ETA always claims its attacks. Following any ETA bombing, ETA militants call in a claim to Spanish authorities. This failed to happen this time.

Fifth, ETA has never in the past carried out multiple attacks. According to some sources, at least 10 bombs were detonated almost simultaneously on Thursday.

On the other hand, these murderous attacks bear the traditional hallmark of al-Qaida: multiple bombs detonating a few seconds apart and programmed to cause the largest possible number of human casualties.

Again, according to the World Observatory of Terrorism, several elements seem to point to the "International Jihad Movement."

The "multiple targeting," reports the WOT, is the standard operating procedure of the fundamentalist Islamist movement.

Also lending credibility is the discovery of a van outside of Madrid:

Spanish Interior Minister Angel Acebes said authorities were investigating a van found in the town of Alcala de Henares, outside Madrid, with at least seven detonators and an Arabic tape with Koranic teachings.

The tape contained no threats and is a type available commercially. The van was stolen last month.

Obviously, more will emerge as time progresses.
-- posted by Austin @ 2:33 PM (PermaLink/Comment) ¶