Blair 'shocked' as Spanish bombing kills 173

Tony Blair led British condemnation today of the Spanish rail bombings that killed more than 170 and injured another 600.

There was carnage as a series of blasts ripped through three stations in the capital Madrid during the morning rush-hour.

The synchronised attack, Europe’s worst terror strike since the Lockerbie bombing, came just 72 hours before Spain’s general election.

“This is a massacre,” said government spokesman Educardo Zapalana.

The British Prime Minister and cabinet colleagues were “saddened and shocked” to learn of the attack as they gathered in Downing Street.

Mr Blair told the weekly meeting: “This terrible attack underlines the threat that we all continue to face from terrorism in many countries and why we must all work together internationally to safeguard our peoples against such attacks and defeat terrorism.”

Terror group ETA, which has previously been linked to the IRA, was blamed by the Spanish authorities for the outrage.

It is of an entirely different magnitude to previous bombings by the Basque separatist group and unlike other ETA attacks there was no phone warning.

The previous highest death toll was 21 in a bomb attack on a Barcelona supermarket in 1987.

Arnold Otegi, a leader of the Basque party linked to ETA, which has been banned from the election, suggested today’s attack was the work of “Arab resistance”.

But that was rejected by Spanish Interior Minister Angel Acebes.

“ETA had been looking for a massacre in Spain,” he said after an emergency cabinet meeting, citing recent thwarted attacks.

“Unfortunately, today it achieved its goal.”