Millions mourn in Spain as bomb mystery deepens

8.00pm

MADRID - Millions of Spaniards have flooded the streets of Spanish cities in a resounding condemnation of a wave of deadly train bombings but the mystery over who was behind Spain's worst guerrilla attack deepened.

Spanish media estimated as many as 11 million people, more than a quarter of the population, took part in marches on Friday to reject the violence a day earlier, when nearly 200 people died in bombings of four packed Madrid-area commuter trains.

The bombings, three days before a general election, forced the suspension of the election campaign and could influence the result of the poll, political analysts say.

The government said armed Basque separatist group ETA remained the prime suspect for the bombings despite calls to Basque media from a caller claiming to represent ETA denying the guerrilla group was responsible.

Interior Minister Angel Acebes questioned the credibility of a letter purporting to come from a group aligned to al Qaeda, the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, and claiming responsibility for the bombings.

President Bush said however he "wouldn't rule anybody out" as the perpetrator and promised American help in hunting down those responsible.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar is one of Bush's closest allies, backing his decision to wage war in Iraq.

Ignoring heavy rain, a sea of protesters took to the streets in Madrid chanting "cowards" and "killers." Draped in Spanish flags or wearing black crosses, marchers held banners with slogans such as "We were all on that train."

Similar marches were held in other cities, including Barcelona and Bilbao, in some of the biggest demonstrations ever held in Spain.

DIGNITARIES

Spain's Crown Prince Felipe headed the main Madrid march, with Aznar and opposition leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, while Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, EU Commission President Romano Prodi and French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin were also present.

"I don't know who did this, but it does not matter. Whoever they are, they are criminals!" said 56-year-old Alfredo Bonilla.

Earlier on Friday, traffic on some of Madrid's busiest streets came to a halt at midday as people marked a period of silence for the victims.

On Saturday, a funeral service for 40 victims of the bombings will be held in Alcala de Henares, a town east of Madrid where investigators believe the bombs may have been put on board the trains.

The government said ETA continued to be the main object of its probe but it was not neglecting other possible lines of investigation.

The government revealed on Thursday that a van containing seven detonators and a tape in Arabic had been found near the Alcala de Henares railway station.

But Acebes said there were good reasons to suspect ETA involvement, including an attempt by ETA to blow up a train at a main Madrid station last Christmas Eve which was foiled by police.

ETA's denial, in phone calls to two media organizations in the northern Basque region, was dismissed by the government.

With nearly 200 people dead, the debate should not revolve around an anonymous caller to a newspaper, chief government spokesman Eduardo Zaplana told state radio.

Acebes said the discovery of an unexploded bomb meant to be used in the bombing had opened new leads.

A sports bag was found on one of the mangled trains which contained explosives similar to a type Acebes said ETA had used in the past.

He said the detonator was the same as those found in the van in Alcala de Henares but did not address media reports that the type of detonator was different to ones commonly used by ETA.

The bomb was intended to be set off by a mobile phone and was packed with shrapnel, Acebes said.

"This attack was prepared so as not to fail," he said.

Many analysts say any proven ETA involvement in the bombings would probably benefit the ruling Popular Party in Sunday's general election because of its tough anti-ETA stance.

But they said that if the killings were the work of Muslim militants, it could be viewed as the price for Aznar's domestically unpopular backing of the US-led war in Iraq.

ETA has killed about 850 people since 1968 in its fight for a separate Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwest France. It has been branded a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.

- REUTERS