MADRID, Spain (AP) - Ten terrorist bombs tore through trains and stations along a commuter line at the height of Madrid's morning rush hour Thursday, killing 190 people and wounding 1,240 others before this weekend's general elections.
The government initially blamed Basque separatists for the worst terrorist strike in Spanish history. But the interior minister said other lines of investigation were opened after police found a van with detonators and an audiotape of Quranic verses near where the bombed trains originated.
"This is mass murder," said a somber Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar following an emergency cabinet meeting, vowing to hunt down the attackers.
The bombers used titadine, a kind of compressed dynamite also found in a bomb-laden van intercepted last month as it headed for Madrid, a source at Aznar's office said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Officials blamed the ETA separatist group at that time.
A U.S. intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "It's too early to tell. We're not ruling anything out."
Police found a van with detonators and an Arabic-language tape with Quranic verses in the town of Alcala de Henares, 15 miles east of Madrid, Interior Minister Angel Acebes said Thursday night, saying all lines of investigation were open.
Neighbors tipped police, who found seven detonators and the tape on the front seat of the van, Acebes told a news conference.
He said ETA remained the "main line of investigation" in the blasts.
The government initially blamed Basque separatists for the worst terrorist strike in Spanish history. But the interior minister said other lines of investigation were opened after police found a van with detonators and an audiotape of Quranic verses near where the bombed trains originated.
"This is mass murder," said a somber Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar following an emergency cabinet meeting, vowing to hunt down the attackers.
The bombers used titadine, a kind of compressed dynamite also found in a bomb-laden van intercepted last month as it headed for Madrid, a source at Aznar's office said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Officials blamed the ETA separatist group at that time.
A U.S. intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "It's too early to tell. We're not ruling anything out."
Police found a van with detonators and an Arabic-language tape with Quranic verses in the town of Alcala de Henares, 15 miles east of Madrid, Interior Minister Angel Acebes said Thursday night, saying all lines of investigation were open.
Neighbors tipped police, who found seven detonators and the tape on the front seat of the van, Acebes told a news conference.
He said ETA remained the "main line of investigation" in the blasts.
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