Rail worker foils bomb attack

A bomb has been found on a Spanish railway line just three weeks after the country's worst terror attack on commuter trains in Madrid.



















Bombing
High-speed trains are halted as police investigate AP/AFP



The device was found on a high-speed line between Madrid and Seville.

Interior Minister Angel Acebes today said “At the moment, the information I have is that the explosive – and (I say)this with caution and while awaiting an analysis – is the same as the one which was used on March 11,” he said.

The country’s rail tracks were being combed “kilometre by kilometre”, he added.

The Madrid train bombings, which have been blamed on Islamic extremists linked to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network, sparked an outpouring of anger across Europe and led to EU leaders adopting a series of measures to step up the fight against terrorism.

Investigators believe the device was placed on the track some time after police carried out a search in line with heightened security measures.

The package was found less than 24 hours after three letter bombs addressed to journalists at three media organisations in Madrid were intercepted at a postal sorting office in the northern city of Zaragoza.

Police experts defused two of the three devices hidden in a tin and containing around 60 grammes of explosive. They blew up the third.