ETA denies blame

Millions of Spaniards chanting "Killers" took to the streets yesterday to protest against the Madrid bombings that killed nearly 200 people, as Basque separatist group ETA rejected government charges of blame.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and EU President Romano Prodi joined Spanish leaders and royal family members at the head of a march in Madrid in a huge show of unity a day after the bombs ripped through four packed commuter trains.

ETA said it was not responsible for the blasts that also wounded nearly 1,500 people, but Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said the group remained the focus of inquiry.

"An ETA message has arrived saying that it bore no responsibility for the attack," ETB Basque public television reported.

Fears that Muslim militants linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda might have been behind Thursday's coordinated bombings put security forces on alert across Europe and beyond.

A six-and-a-half-month-old baby girl died in hospital yesterday, taking the official death toll to 199 in what Spanish media have dubbed "Our September 11".

Mr Aznar, who has taken a tough line against ETA, said Spain would go ahead with a general election tomorrow, although the country is in an official state of mourning.

"No line of investigation will be ruled out," Mr Aznar told reporters, but he cited recent foiled ETA plots and intelligence suggesting the group was aiming at transport targets.

"What did this terrorist organisation want when they tried to enter Madrid last week with 500 kilos of explosives? It's a line of investigation any Spanish government that hasn't lost its head has to follow. It's the one we are following and if there are other hypotheses, we'll follow them too."

Many analysts say any proven ETA involvement in the bombings would likely benefit the ruling centre-right Popular Party in tomorrow's election because of its tough stance on the group.

But they said that if the killings were the work of Muslim militants, it could be viewed as the price for Mr Aznar's backing of the US-led war in Iraq in the face of strong public opposition in Spain.

Victims of the Madrid bombs included 24 nationals of 10 other countries: Peru, Honduras, Poland, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Guinea Bissau, France, Morocco and Colombia.

Shocked Spaniards left flowers and messages next to the mangled wreckage of trains and station platforms yesterday.

Witnesses spoke of their horror at the carnage - including mobile phones ringing on dead bodies.

As condemnation poured in from Pope John Paul to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, jittery European nations tightened security and bomb scares in Spain kept nerves strained.

Washington said a purported al Qaeda letter claiming responsibility for the bombings and threatening another September 11-style strike could be the "precursor" of another plot against the United States.

"We have succeeded in infiltrating the heart of crusader Europe and struck one of the bases of the crusader alliance," said the letter, a copy of which was faxed by a London-based Arabic newspaper to Reuters in Dubai.

No authentication was available of the letter attributed to the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, a group aligned to al Qaeda.

Practically all of Spain, from homes to workplaces, came to a halt at midday for silent vigils.

Broadcasters fell silent and drivers stood by their cars on main roads. Spanish flags and black ribbons fluttered from houses.

At Mr Aznar's residence, a silent vigil was broken by an official shouting: "Send the terrorists to the firing squad."

Solidarity rallies were also scheduled in Latin American countries such as Venezuela, Mexico, Peru and Argentina. US President George W. Bush planned to join a wreath-laying ceremony at the Spanish ambassador's Washington residence.

Fuelling suspicions of a possible al Qaeda link, Spain has found a van containing seven detonators and a tape in Arabic at a town near Madrid.

"If the hell unleashed which burned the whole of Madrid on Thursday is the result of Islamic fanaticism, we must look at Spain's role in the Iraq war: an involvement which our citizens rejected," said newspaper commentator Antonio Gala.

ETA (Euskadi ta Askatasuna) 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.