STORM2K

Report: Spanish Intelligence Sees Islamic Group Behind Attack
Sat Mar 13, 2004

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's intelligence service is "99 percent certain" that radical Muslims and not the Basque separatist group ETA are responsible for train bombings that killed 200 people, a Spanish radio station said on Saturday. Private radio SER, whose owners have links to the opposition Socialist Party, said the National Intelligence Center (CNI) believes the evidence points to an Islamic group, and that 10 to 15 people left bombs on the trains and fled, the radio said.

"The evidence has wiped out previous indications that led us to believe in ETA," the radio quoted one of its sources as saying. Who was responsible is seen by political analysts as an important question ahead of Sunday's general election. Interior Minister Angel Acebes told a press conference: "If it (is believed to be) al Qaeda, no authorities from the state security forces have told me." A Defense Ministry spokesman declined comment on the radio report.

Many analysts say any proven ETA involvement in the bombings would probably benefit the ruling party because of its tough anti-ETA stance, but if the attack was the work of Muslim militants, it could be viewed as the consequence of Spain's domestically unpopular backing of the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Cadena SER, citing high ranking intelligence officials, said that at first ETA was suspected. That changed after police later on the day of Thursday's attacks discovered a stolen van near the railway station where three of the four bombed trains originated.

In that van was found seven detonators and an Arabic language audio tape giving instruction about the Koran. The van did not have the false license plates ETA normally attaches to its stolen vehicles. Moreover, other evidence has pointed away from ETA, such as the type of detonators used and the synchronized nature of the attacks. Four early morning trains were bombed at the same time, similar to the hijacking of four early morning commercial flights in the attacks of September 11, 2001 on the United States.


Source

Al Qaeda just released a new video tape. They're claiming responsibility and the person in the video went on to to say that Spain was hit due to US ties. This shouldn't have been much of a surprise to the Spanish gov even before the tape was released...they were probably stuck on the ETA idea since elections are tomorrow.

Associated Press

Spain Has Tape of Al Qaeda Claiming Responsibility

MADRID, Spain — Spain's interior minister said Sunday a videotape has been discovered claiming Al Qaeda (search) carried out the Madrid terrorist attacks, but that he could not verify the veracity of the claim.

Interior Minister Angel Acebes (search) said a man identifying himself as the military spokesman of Al Qaeda in Europe claimed the group was responsible for the attacks Thursday that killed 200 people and wounded 1,500.

"We declare our responsibility for what happened in Madrid exactly 21/2 years after the attacks on New York and Washington," said the man, according to a government translation of the tape, which was recorded in Arabic. "It is a response to your collaboration with the criminals Bush and his allies."

Speaking at a hastily called post-midnight news conference at the interior ministry, Acebes said authorities could not confirm the claim was genuine. He said the videotape was discovered after an Arabic-speaking man called a Madrid TV station and said where it could be found.

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly ... 38,00.html

From the moment I saw all of what happened I knew it was a work of Al-Qaeda and not by ETA because ETA doesn't make that kind of terrorist acts as they make them in a more smaller way to only try to kill spanish politicians and that is the big goal of ETA but killing many people outside the politicians is not a trademark of ETA.