In late November and early December 2022, a number of letter bombs were mailed to locations across Spain. Packages were received at high-profile individuals and locations, including the Prime Minister of Spain's Moncloa residence, the Ukrainian and U.S. embassies in Madrid, Torrejon Air Base, and the arms manufacturer Instalaza. One person has been injured in the attacks—a security officer at the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid.
On 30 November 2022, further letter bombs were mailed. The first was mailed to the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid, exploding when a security officer opened it in the garden of the embassy, leaving a "very small wound" on one finger.[4][5] Arms manufacturer Instalaza, in Zaragoza, received a similar package hours later.[2][6][7]
On 1 December 2022, before dawn, another letter bomb was intercepted after being detected by a scanner, at the Torrejon Air Base near Madrid. The package was addressed to the European Union Satellite Centre at the base.[2] On the same day, an additional letter bomb was received at the Defence Ministry, and was defused.[1] A sixth letter bomb was sent to the US embassy in Madrid, and was intercepted at around 12.30 pm local time.[8] It was subsequently "safely detonated".[9][10]
Analysis and response
Each of the letter bombs were reportedly similar, in brown envelopes addressed to the heads of each institution. The devices consisted of loose gunpowder with an electrical ignition mechanism, resulting in a burning, rather than exploding effect.[1] An official, Rosa Serrano, told radio station SER that the packages sent to both the Ukrainian embassy and Instalaza had the same return address.[2]
In response to the letter bomb attacks, Spanish authorities increased security measures at public and diplomatic buildings.[1][11] The Foreign Minister of UkraineDmytro Kuleba ordered that the security of all Ukrainian embassies be increased, and urged Spain to investigate the attack.[4] Spain's High Court was reported to have opened an investigation for a possible case of terrorism.[12]