The London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi said it had received an email supposedly from Al Qaida that claimed responsibility for the series of deadly train bombings in Madrid, the British Sky News reported on Thursday.  

The email received by the newspaper said The Brigade of Abu Hafs al-Masri in the name of al-Qaida had penetrated "one of the pillars of the crusade alliance, Spain," reports said.

"This is part of settling old accounts with Spain, the crusader, and America's ally in its war against Islam," reports quoted the email as saying.

The alleged claim, which could not be independently verified, comes after reports said Spanish investigators found an Arabic language tape with Koranic versus in a van carrying bomb detonators near Madrid.

According to earlier reports, powerful explosions ripped through three busy Madrid train stations on Thursday morning, killing at least 192 rush-hour commuters and wounding more than 1,200. The death toll makes the blasts the worst terrorist attack ever in Spain.

(Xinhua News Agency March 12, 2004)