Mail Bombs Rock Madrid in Leftist Attacks

Mail bombs exploded at the Madrid Stock Exchange, the Economy Ministry and the Constitutional Court today, slightly injuring six people, police said. A shadowy leftist group claimed responsibility.

In France, the Paris Stock Exchange was evacuated in mid-session today after a bomb threat. Police conducted a 20-minute search of the building, then lifted the bomb alert and allowed employees to return.

No details were released about the Paris threat, which came shortly after the Madrid blasts.

The first two explosions in Madrid came about 11:30 a.m. local time on the exchange’s trading floor and on the 11th floor of the Economy Ministry, a police spokesman said.

Minutes later, the third bomb exploded at the Constitutional Court on Madrid’s western edge, Spanish National Radio reported.

The six injured, all at the stock exchange, were treated for cuts and bruises at a hospital and later released. No one was injured at the Economy Ministry or the court.

Callers claiming to represent the far-left group GRAPO warned Madrid municipal police and Economy Ministry officials minutes before the blasts, police said.

Witnesses told police they saw women carrying suspicious-looking packages entering the Madrid buildings just before the explosions. Women have taken part in several killings and bombings claimed by GRAPO.

All three buildings were evacuated, and police bomb squads searched for other bombs. The stock market and ministry are blocks apart on Castellana Boulevard, Madrid’s main north-south thoroughfare.

National Radio said the explosion at the exchange caused part of the ceiling to collapse and sent people rushing from the building.