1980 Terrorist Bombing
On 2 August 1980 at 10.25 am, an improvised explosive device (IED) made with 20 kilograms of a TNT mixture was detonated inside Bologna's main railway station. The IED was contained in a suitcase, which was placed near the wall inside a waiting lobby. The explosion killed 85 people and injured more than 200. The wing of the station in which the bomb was detonated has been reconstructed but, as a testimony to the victims of the attack, the original pavement was maintained as well as a deep crack in the main wall. Moreover, the station main clock is forever stopped at the exact time of the explosion. The attack is also known in Italy as the Strage di Bologna, the Bologna massacre.
The Italian government immediately accused the Italian leftist militant group Red Brigades for the attack; however this was denied by the group, and no one ever claimed responsibility. Over the years, official investigation has determined that the attack was carried out by a small neo-fascist group. Many conspiracy theories regarding this event have been entertained, including a link between this act of terrorism and the Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870 disaster.
Read more about this topic: Bologna Centrale Railway Station
Famous quotes containing the words terrorist and/or bombing:
“The terrorist and the policeman both come from the same basket. Revolution, legality—counter-moves in the same game; forms of idleness at bottom identical.”
—Joseph Conrad (1857–1924)
“The compulsion to do good is an innate American trait. Only North Americans seem to believe that they always should, may, and actually can choose somebody with whom to share their blessings. Ultimately this attitude leads to bombing people into the acceptance of gifts.”
—Ivan Illich (b. 1926)