Spain remembers the victims of Islamist terrorism

USPA NEWS - Under the sign of unity with the participation of the four associations of victims of terrorism, which has not been common in previous years, Spain commemorated Friday the 12th anniversary of the attacks of March 11, 2004, which caused 192 dead and over 2,000 injured.

The main event of the tributes, held with the assistance of the four victims' of terrorism associations existing in Spain, was held at the Puerta del Sol in Madrid and although it tried to keep politics of remembrance for the victims and who helped, he attended the acting Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy; the president of the Madrid regional Government, Cristina Cifuentes, and the mayor of the capital, Manuela Carmena. Both placed a wreath by the plaque that remembers the victims and those who helped them.

The attacks of March 11, 2004 were the bloodiest occurred in Spain. Several bombs exploded on four trains leaving or arriving in Madrid during rush hour. As a result of the attacks killed 192 people and more than 2,000 were injured of varying severity. The attacks were claimed by al Qaeda, that justified by the presence of Spanish troops in the Iraq war.

After the ceremony held at the Puerta del Sol in Madrid, the acting Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, said it "comforting" that is to see the unity of all parties and associations of victims on the anniversary of the slaughter. Rajoy recalled that occurred twelve years ago in Spain one of the "most terrible" events and that "more shocked the Spanish public opinion." He also assured that Spain "will continue to defend the rights and freedoms of citizens" and highlighted the role of the military in that defense.

For his part, Secretary General of the Socialist Party, Pedro Sanchez, pledged, if invested president, to organize a large unitary act of all associations of victims of terrorism and political parties to honor the victims of 11-M. In this sense, the leader of the populist extreme leftist coalition Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, called "exile" of political practices the political use of victims "to attack the adversary." And the spokesman for Citizens in the city of Madrid, Begona Villacis, said the memory of the victims "should go beyond a day" and be permanent.