Bar Iruña attack

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Bar Iruna attack
LocationBarcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Date26 December 1987
6:00 pm (UTC+01:00)
TargetAmericans
Attack type
Bombing
WeaponsGrenade
Deaths1
Injured9
PerpetratorsCatalan separatists

On 26 December 1987, a bomb attack on a United Service Organizations (USO) club in Barcelona, Spain killed an American sailor and injured nine others. The attack, on Bar Iruña, was perpetrated by Catalan nationalist terrorists. 22-year-old Ronald Strong from Reeders, Pennsylvania was the person who died, having received shrapnel wounds to his lungs and kidneys.[citation needed]

Both Terra Lliure and Catalan Red Liberation Army (ERCA) claimed responsibility. Residents claimed that anti-American slogans and graffiti near the bar at the time suggested the incident was linked to the extension of the Spain-United States military treaty (Pact of Madrid), which was first signed during the tenure of caudillo Francisco Franco in 1953.[1][2]

Terra Lliure had previously claimed responsibility for an attack on an American consulate in Barcelona in October, which wounded eight sailors.[3] A woman claiming to be from ERCA took responsibility "against an establishment of the Yankee war marines" in a call to news agency EFE. However, the authorities doubted its credibility.[4]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Delaney, Paul (28 December 1987). "American Sailor Dies in Barcelona After U.S.O. Blast That Hurt 10". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "Countdown begins to remove US military bases from Spain". Christian Science Monitor. 9 November 1987.
  3. ^ "Archives". Los Angeles Times. 27 December 1987.
  4. ^ "A U.S. Sailor died Sunday from injuries suffered in".