Rajoy doubts al-Qaeda link

2004-03-12 17:58

Madrid - Mariano Rajoy, leader of Spain's ruling Popular Party (PP), said on Friday he was not convinced by reports that alleged Islamic fundamentalist group al-Qaeda was behind a series of bomb blasts which left 198 dead in Madrid on Thursday.

"I am not an expert in these things, but judging by what people have told me, this has very little credibility."

The government first blamed Basque radical group ETA for the bombings.

But within hours the al-Quds al-Arabia newspaper said it had had an e-mail claiming responsibility from a group affiliated with al-Qaeda, referring to a "settling of old scores with crusader Spain, America's ally in its war against Islam."

Rajoy said he was sticking to the line laid down by Interior Minister Angel Acebes that ETA remained the main line of enquiry, while not ruling out other leads.

Earlier, Rajoy's party colleague, Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, said no lead would be ignored.

"We will leave no stone unturned in our enquiries. We will follow up each and every lead," Aznar told a news conference.

- AFP