Over 170 killed in Madrid rush hour blasts
More than 170 people have been killed and around 600 injured in a series of blasts which ripped through Madrid railway stations on Thursday morning local time, in an attack suspected to be the worst by ETA Basque separatists.
Spanish Interior Minister Angel Acebes said 13 bombs had been placed around Madrid of which 10 had gone off in and near stations and trains just before 8:00am local time.
He added three of the explosions were controlled detonations by Spanish authorities.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar vowed to hunt down those responsible for the deadly rush hour bomb blasts.
"We will not back down in the face of terrorist killings - the perpetrators will be tried and convicted," he said.
"We are targeting the total, complete and unconditional defeat of terrorism."
Mr Aznar offered his condolences to the families of the victims.
"I share their terrible loss, the government is with them - we will never forget what has happened," he said at a sombre televised address some six hours after the wave of attacks.
He confirmed that Spain would hold three days official mourning for the victims of the attacks, which his government blamed on the armed Basque separatist group ETA.
"Terrorism is not blind - these terrorists wanted to cause as much damage as possible, it is a massacre - they have killed many people simply for being Spanish," he said.
"There can be no negotiation with these murderers - we will only stop these attacks by taking a hard line.
"We will not deviate from that line, whether they kill or cease to kill."
The Prime Minister himself escaped an ETA attempt on his life in 1995, just months before he became PM.
"We are with the victims, we are on the side of the constitution, guaranteeing the rights of all in a united and plural Spain," Aznar said following a crisis meeting of his cabinet.
The Spanish leader also paid generous tribute in the name of the government to the rescuers and to passers by who had offered help.
Butchery
"This is just butchery," ambulance officer Enrique Sanchez said who was one of the first to arrive at the scene.
He said that one of the coaches was full of dead bodies.
Rescue services and hospitals appealed for blood donations to cope with the flood of injured, as horrified onlookers watched scenes of carnage and utter desolation unfolding before their eyes.
Many survivors had their clothes cut from their bodies to assist rapid treatment of their injuries.
Others simply sat on the pavement, their head in their hands.
Many were trembling and in tears.
"There were people like me going to school - it was a strange sensation, I can't explain the feeling, dead people all around," one student said at Atocha station.
"As we came into the station things suddenly went black and the room fell in on me - I jumped onto the platform but I'm fine, compared to many others."
No warning
Mr Acebes said the explosions had taken place at "an interval of four to five minutes", and that the government had received no advance warning.
He rejected out of hand a claim by the Batasuna party leader that extremists from an "Arab resistance" were to blame.
Batasuna party leader Arnaldo Otegi said he refused to believe ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, Basque Homeland and Liberty) was involved.
Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in October threatened to carry out suicide bombings on any countries joining the US-led coalition in Iraq, specifically mentioning Spain, one of the United States and Spain's staunchest allies in the war.
The European Parliament observed a minute's silence after the bomb blasts, which parliament chief Pat Cox condemned as a "declaration of war on democracy".
"What happened today is a declaration of war on democracy," Mr Cox said in a statement, adding the attacks were "the worst act of terror in memory in any European Union state".
Only a fortnight ago Spanish police foiled an attack believed aimed at Madrid by arresting two suspected ETA members as they headed for the capital in a pick-up truck carrying over 500 kilograms of explosives.
Bush response
United States President George W Bush has expressed his condolences to Mr Aznar over the attacks, a White House spokesman said.
Mr Bush "expressed his condolences over the viciousness" of the attack during the call, US National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack said.
He said Mr Bush and Mr Aznar spoke for 10 minutes.