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Spain says suspect van had Arabic tapes
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-03-12 09:04 Spanish investigators said
Thursday they had found a van containing seven detonators and a tape in Arabic,
the first suggestion of any possible militant Islamist link to Madrid bombings
that killed 192 people.
Spanish Interior Minister Angel Acebes said the tape contained verses from
the Koran used in teaching. The van, which was stolen in Madrid Feb. 28,
contained no other clues, he added.
Spain has so far attributed Thursday's attack to Basque separatists, but
Acebes' remarks appeared to raise the possibility of a link to Islamist
militants in the blasts on four packed commuter trains that injured 1,421
people. He said, however, that separatists remained the chief suspects.
The van was found in Alcala de Henares, the starting point of one of the
bombed trains.
"I have just given instructions to the security forces not to rule out any
lines of investigation," Acebes told a news conference, but declined to point
the finger at any particular group besides ETA.
"The same as this morning, the security forces regard ETA as the principal
line of investigation, given that all the signs -- the explosives used and
recent foiled plots... -- all indicate that ETA wanted to carry out a big attack
in Madrid," he added.
The 10 simultaneous bomb blasts during the rush hour were the worst attack of
its kind to hit Europe since the 1988 bombing of a U.S. airliner over Lockerbie,
Scotland, that killed 270.
Shortly after Acebes spoke, a London-based newspaper said it had received a
letter purporting to come from Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network and claiming
responsibility for the attacks.
Acebes said police were questioning a witness about the van, but he said no
details were currently available.
The minister said more than 100 kilos of dynamite packed into a dozen
rucksacks was used in the attacks, but he added it had not been possible to
identify the brand of the explosive.
ETA, which has killed some 850 people since 1968 in a campaign for an
independent Basque homeland, does not habitually claim responsibility for its
attacks until several weeks afterward.
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