A spokesman for the Spanish government laid the blame for the series of bombs that tore through packed Madrid commuter trains on Thursday morning in the hands of Basque separatist group ETA. But many experts had doubts, and the possibility of a link to al-Qaida or other Islamist groups has been raised. The leader of the banned Basque separatist party Herri Batasuna, Arnaldo Otegi, blamed the blasts on “Arab resistance” and denied any ETA involvement. Spanish newspaper El Mundo claimed that it was “90 percent” certain that ETA was behind the terrorist attack, basing its argument on the proximity of the bombings to Sunday elections and a recent arrest where ETA members were apprehended en route to Madrid with 500 kilograms of explosives. A range of expert analysts have raised doubts. Marianne Heiberg at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) pointed out a number of deviations from normal ETA routine in the attack. Full Story
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