 Millions of people were expected to turn out on the streets of Spain today in protest at yesterday's devastating bomb attacks in Madrid which killed 198 people. As the death toll rose, Spanish television and news reports continually revised the number of fatalities. Of those who have died, 84 have yet to be identified, said Deputy Justice Minister Rafael Alcala. The number of injured has soared to 1,400, with 367 people still in hospital and 45 of those in a critical condition. Among the casualties is a British woman who is thought to be a resident of Spain and is now recovering in hospital. As Spain reeled from the shock of its worst terrorist outrage, the government called for nationwide demonstrations against the attacks. Thousands of people across the country took part in spontaneous anti-terror rallies yesterday, standing silently in packed town squares. Although the Spanish government immediately blamed the separatist group Eta, attention quickly turned to Islamic extremists. The London-based Arabic language Al Quds newspaper said it had received an e-mail from a group representing Osama bin Laden's al Qaida network, claiming responsibility for the explosions. The e-mail, issued by the Brigade of Abu Hafs al-Masri in the name of al Qaida, said its "death squad" had penetrated "one of the pillars of the crusader alliance". "This is part of settling old accounts with Spain, the crusader, and America's ally in its war against Islam," it said. Spanish police also discovered a van on the outskirts of the city with detonators and an Arabic language tape with verses from the Koran. Following the discovery, interior minister Angel Acebes said "all kinds of lines of investigation open up". But today the focus was on protest. "Let us all unite with a single voice to fight these murderous and criminal terrorists," said Spanish government spokesman Eduardo Zaplana on national TV, urging Spaniards to turn out "in force". From Britain, Europe minister Denis MacShane was flying to Madrid to represent the Government and the British people at the planned mass rally. Mr MacShane said the attacks showed "a new politics" was required and criticised people who said the Prime Minister was "exaggerating" the threat. "The Spanish authorities will be investigating very, very hard indeed," he said. "There are hallmarks of Eta involvement - their first big terrorist activity more than 40 years ago was a train explosion, but the scale of the bombings, of course, leads one to think that others might be involved." Yesterday, ten bombs ripped through several trains and stations at 7.40am during Madrid's rush-hour in Europe's worst terrorist atrocity since the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. Train platforms were strewn with corpses. Prime Minister Tony Blair and US president George Bush led world condemnation of the attacks, describing the bombings as "unspeakable evil". Mr Blair, who was in Dublin for talks with Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern, said: "It is absolutely unbelievable that people should think any cause could justify such an act." President Bush declared: "We stand strong with the people of Spain." Spain has been regarded as a potential target for Islamic terrorists because of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's strong support for Britain and America in the war against Iraq. After an emergency Cabinet meeting, Mr Aznar vowed to hunt down the attackers. Spanish foreign minister Ana Palacio said today that all the indications were that the blasts were the work of Eta, although the government was keeping an open mind on the issue. On tonight's demonstrations against the violence, she said: "I think there is a pervasive feeling that we have to demonstrate that united we stand, and that united we will win over terrorism." * The group that claimed responsibility for the Madrid train massacre threatened that America was on the verge of another deadly terror attack. The group, speaking in the name of al Qaida, said plans to strike America with a "black wind of death" were 90pc complete. The warning was sent to the London-based Arabic newspaper, Al Quds, by The Brigade of Abu Hafs al-Masri. The editor of Al Quds, Abdel Bari Atwan, said he believed the claim of responsibility was genuine. Evening Gazette opinion | 
