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Zaragoza Barracks Bombing (1987)

SOLVED1987Guardia Civil barracks, Avenida de Cataluna, Zaragoza3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence · crimes against children — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

On 11 December 1987, a car bomb destroyed a Guardia Civil barracks on Avenida de Cataluña in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. The Basque separatist organisation ETA carried out the attack, using a vehicle packed with 250 kilograms of ammonal parked beside the four-storey building, which housed 40 families, about 180 people in total. The explosion killed 11 people, including five children, and injured 88 others, most of them civilians.

The bombing came almost six months after ETA's car bomb at the Hipercor shopping centre in Barcelona, which killed 21 people and injured 45. On 5 November 1987, the main Spanish political parties signed the Pact of Madrid, ruling out negotiations with ETA until the group formally disarmed. The Zaragoza attack was interpreted as ETA's response to that pact, and it occurred while the group was led by the Artapalo collective.

At 06:10, a Guardia Civil officer at the entrance saw two men parking a Renault 18 in front of the building. When he approached to tell them parking was not permitted, they fled in another vehicle waiting nearby. Before he could wake those sleeping inside, the ammonal detonated, collapsing all four floors and damaging neighbouring houses. A motorcyclist was accidentally killed by a military vehicle amid the emergency response. Rescuers worked through the night, and the last bodies, those of Angel Alcaraz and Maria Dolores Franco, were recovered at 13:45 the following day. The dead included three-year-old twins and girls aged six and seven.

The funerals of the 11 victims were held on 12 December 1987 at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar. On 13 December, about 250,000 people demonstrated in Zaragoza under the banner "Zaragoza for peace and against terrorism." A memorial garden, the Park of Hope, was later built on the site, and an annual commemoration has been held since 1987.

Responsibility was placed on the Comando Argala, an itinerant unit of French citizens formed in 1978 and disbanded by police in 1990. Investigators identified four French nationals, Henri Parot, his brother Jean Parot, Jacques Esnal and Frederic Haramboure, as the attackers, acting on orders from ETA's Artapalo leadership. Arrests followed in 1989, 1990 and 1992, with Henri Parot detained in Seville in April 1990 and the Artapalo leadership captured in Bidart, France, in March 1992. In later trials, Francisco Mujika Garmendia and Jose Maria Arregi Erostarbe were each sentenced to 2,354 years for the 11 murders and the injuries, and Henri Parot received 1,802 years for the Zaragoza attack. Jean Parot, Esnal and Haramboure were sentenced to life imprisonment in France in 1997. Jose Antonio Urruticoechea Bengoechea, alias Josu Ternera, who relayed the order to attack, was later charged again in Spain and arrested in France in May 2019.

Key facts

Victims
Angel Alcaraz, Maria Dolores Franco
Date
1987
Location
Guardia Civil barracks, Avenida de Cataluna, Zaragoza
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1978

    ETA's Comando Argala unit is formed.

  2. 1987-11-05

    Spain's main political parties sign the Pact of Madrid, ruling out negotiations with ETA until it disarms.

  3. 1987-12-11

    A car bomb destroys the Guardia Civil barracks on Avenida de Cataluna in Zaragoza, killing 11 people and injuring 88.

  4. 1987-12-12

    Funerals for the 11 victims are held at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza.

  5. 1987-12-13

    About 250,000 people demonstrate in Zaragoza against terrorism.

  6. 1989-01

    Jose Antonio Urruticoechea Bengoechea (Josu Ternera) is arrested in Bayonne, France.

  7. 1990

    The Comando Argala unit is disbanded by police.

  8. 1990-04-02

    Henri Parot is arrested in Seville, Spain.

  9. 1992-03-29

    ETA's Artapalo leadership is captured in Bidart, France.

  10. 1993-06-18

    Francisco Mujika Garmendia is tried in Paris and sentenced to 10 years for crimes committed in France.

  11. 1994-03-08

    Henri Parot is sentenced by Spain's High Court to 1,802 years for the Zaragoza attack.

  12. 1996-05

    Josu Ternera is extradited from France to Spain.

  13. 1997-06-19

    Jean Parot, Jacques Esnal and Frederic Haramboure are sentenced to life imprisonment by a French tribunal.

  14. 2000-01

    The Spanish Supreme Court orders Josu Ternera's release, finding his crimes had already been tried in France.

  15. 2000-02-08

    Francisco Mujika Garmendia is extradited to Spain.

  16. 2003-06-03

    Mujika Garmendia and Jose Maria Arregi Erostarbe are each sentenced to 2,354 years for the 11 murders.

  17. 2019-05-16

    Josu Ternera is arrested in Haute-Savoie, France.

  18. 2025-10-18

    Jacques Esnal dies in custody.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Frederic Haramboure

    CONVICTED

    French national involved in executing the attack; captured in France and sentenced to life imprisonment on 19 June 1997.

    citation on file

  • Jose Antonio Urruticoechea Bengoechea

    CONVICTED

    ETA Artapalo leader (alias Josu Ternera) who relayed the order to attack; sentenced to 10 years in France and extradited to Spain in 1996, released by the Spanish Supreme Court in January 2000 on grounds his crimes had already been tried in France, later charged again over the attack and arrested in Haute-Savoie, France, on 16 May 2019.

    citation on file

  • Francisco Mujika Garmendia

    CONVICTED

    ETA Artapalo leader (alias Pakito) who surveilled the barracks and gave the order to attack; sentenced in France in 1993 and, after extradition to Spain, sentenced on 3 June 2003 to 2,354 years for 11 murders plus additional years for the injuries.

    citation on file

  • Angel Alcaraz

    VICTIM

    One of the 11 people killed in the bombing; among the last bodies recovered on 12 December 1987.

    citation on file

  • Henri Parot

    CONVICTED

    French national (alias Unai) who parked the bomb-laden vehicle; convicted by Spain's High Court on 8 March 1994 and sentenced to 1,802 years for the Zaragoza attack.

    citation on file

  • Jacques Esnal

    CONVICTED

    French national who activated the detonation mechanism; sentenced to life imprisonment in France on 19 June 1997; died in custody on 18 October 2025.

    citation on file

  • Maria Dolores Franco

    VICTIM

    Wife of a policeman and one of the 11 people killed in the bombing; among the last bodies recovered on 12 December 1987.

    citation on file

  • Jose Maria Arregi Erostarbe

    CONVICTED

    ETA explosives expert (alias Fitipaldi) who assembled the device; tried alongside Mujika Garmendia and given the same 2,354-year sentence.

    citation on file

  • Jean Parot

    CONVICTED

    French national involved in executing the attack; captured in France and sentenced to life imprisonment by a French tribunal on 19 June 1997.

    citation on file

Places

Guardia Civil barracks, Avenida de Cataluna, Zaragoza

41.6614, -0.8656

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
A 1987 ETA car bombing at a Guardia Civil barracks in Zaragoza, Spain, killed 11 people, including five children, and injured 88.
Where did the bombing happen?
Guardia Civil barracks, Avenida de Cataluna, Zaragoza.
Who was convicted?
Frederic Haramboure (French national involved in executing the attack; captured in France and sentenced to life imprisonment on 19 June 1997.), Jose Antonio Urruticoechea Bengoechea (ETA Artapalo leader (alias Josu Ternera) who relayed the order to attack; sentenced to 10 years in France and extradited to Spain in 1996, released by the Spanish Supreme Court in January 2000 on grounds his crimes had already been tried in France, later charged again over the attack and arrested in Haute-Savoie, France, on 16 May 2019.), Francisco Mujika Garmendia (ETA Artapalo leader (alias Pakito) who surveilled the barracks and gave the order to attack; sentenced in France in 1993 and, after extradition to Spain, sentenced on 3 June 2003 to 2,354 years for 11 murders plus additional years for the injuries.), Henri Parot (French national (alias Unai) who parked the bomb-laden vehicle; convicted by Spain's High Court on 8 March 1994 and sentenced to 1,802 years for the Zaragoza attack.), Jacques Esnal (French national who activated the detonation mechanism; sentenced to life imprisonment in France on 19 June 1997; died in custody on 18 October 2025.), Jose Maria Arregi Erostarbe (ETA explosives expert (alias Fitipaldi) who assembled the device; tried alongside Mujika Garmendia and given the same 2,354-year sentence.), and Jean Parot (French national involved in executing the attack; captured in France and sentenced to life imprisonment by a French tribunal on 19 June 1997.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.

Sources

  1. Zaragoza barracks bombingwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-05
  2. Contemporaneous coverage of the Zaragoza barracks bombingnews · elmundo.es · 2026-07-05
  3. Zaragoza, ataudes blancosnews · elpais.com · 2026-07-05

Last verified JUL 2026

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