2004 World Events · Counterterror expansion and networked conflict
Madrid train bombings
Coordinated bombs on commuter trains killed 193 people three days before Spain's election.
Evidence-led reading
What is stated, why it matters, and what remains uncertain
What this is
A specific-event record selected from the protected World Events source ledger for cross-year research. It is not an exhaustive account of 2004.
Why it matters
It showed how terrorism could shape democratic politics and European security cooperation.
What is established here
The page faithfully exposes the submitted record and its source boundary. No claim-level evidence packet has yet upgraded the record beyond a research starting point.
What remains uncertain
Starting-point source from the submitted dataset; verify exact dates, attribution, legal posture, casualty figures, and current status before reuse.
Record narrative
Source-bounded summary
Coordinated bombs on commuter trains killed 193 people three days before Spain's election.
It showed how terrorism could shape democratic politics and European security cooperation.
Structured fields
Record at a glance
- Stable record ID
- 2004-001
- Date or period
- 2004-03-11
- Type
- Terrorist attack
- Focus
- Terrorism
- Impact scope
- Global
- Priority
- 5 of 5
- Location label
- Madrid, Spain
- Coordinate precision
- City-level coordinate
- Actors named by the source record
- Al-Qaeda-inspired cell; commuters; Spanish authorities
- Verification state
- source-start-point; sensitive details require independent verification
Geographic context
A coordinate locator, not a surveyed event footprint
The submitted record supplies 40.4168, -3.7038 with the precision label “City-level coordinate.” Multi-location events, disputed borders, campaigns, and broad regions cannot be reduced to one point.
Review location and coordinate boundariesSource and verification boundary
This remains a starting-point record
Starting-point source from the submitted dataset; verify exact dates, attribution, legal posture, casualty figures, and current status before reuse.
Citation and correction
Use the stable record ID and challenge individual propositions
A correction may concern the date, place, actors, attribution, legal status, figures, coordinate precision, source characterization, or why-pivotal summary without invalidating every other field.
2IA — International Intelligence Archive. “Madrid train bombings.” World Events record 2004-001. Reviewed July 27, 2026. https://2ix.org/world-events/2004/2004-001/