Spanish Terrorism Expert Slain on Street in Madrid
Two attackers suspected of being Basque terrorists today gunned down one of Spain’s top anti-terrorist experts in downtown Madrid, riddling his car with submachine-gun fire and seriously wounding his driver, authorities said.
Vice Adm. Fausto Escrigas, 60, a senior policy maker at the Defense Ministry, died minutes after the assailants fired at him through the window of his car, a ministry spokesman said.
His driver, Francisco Maranon, 57, was taken to La Paz Hospital, where doctors said he was in serious condition with several bullets in his head.
The attack coincided with a visit to Madrid by Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III for talks with officials on ways of fighting international terrorism. The attack “in a sense underscores the importance of the discussions we are having about the subject of terrorism,” Meese told a news conference.
Police later located the getaway car on a narrow street several blocks from the site of the attack and defused 6 1/2 pounds of plastic explosives left inside, a spokesman said.
A getaway car packed with explosives also was discovered after the June 12 killing of an army colonel and his driver in Madrid.
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