Spain was burying its dead from the Madrid train bombings on Saturday, as the death toll climbed to 200 and cast a dark shadow over a Sunday general election.
Campaigning has been suspended since 10 bombs ripped through four packed commuter trains on Thursday, wounding nearly 1,500 people. The identity of the perpetrators, which could influence how some people vote on Sunday, remains a mystery.
Hundreds attended a funeral service in a gymnasium in the commuter town of Alcala de Henares, home to 40 people who died and the starting point for three of the four bombed trains.
Some 11 million people, more than a quarter of Spain's population, took to rain-drenched streets in nation-wide protests on Friday against "our September 11", the worst attack of its kind on Spanish soil.
Aznar is to step down, but his hand-picked successor, former deputy Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, is seeking a third straight four-year term for the centre-right Popular Party.
Socialist candidate Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who opposed the war in Iraq but has backed Aznar in the fight against ETA, is seeking to return the Socialists to power for the first time since Aznar unseated Felipe Gonzalez in 1996.
The Saturday before elections is referred to in Spain as the "Day of Reflection", on which campaigning is normally halted. This time the campaign was called off after Thursday's attack.
Hundreds of people attended the memorial service in a municipal gymnasium in the town, the birthplace of Cervantes.
DEMONSTRATION: More than a thousand people held a protest in Madrid Saturday to blame this week's bombs in the capital on the government's unpopular decision to support the US war on Iraq.
Shouting "The bombs on Iraq have exploded in Madrid" and "Resign", the crowd gathered in front of the ruling Popular Party's headquarters but were held back by police in riot gear.
Comments
Comments are closed.