There have been constant references to the September 11th terrorist attacks in the US as the Spanish press struggles to come to terms with the four train attacks in the centre of Madrid which left more than 180 people dead and over 1,000 injured,
Luke Cassidy
writes
El Pais
Most of the Spanish dailies are referring to the attacks as 11-M (11 of March) and have laid the blame for the bomb attacks squarely at the door of the Basque separatist group ETA.
The leading Spanish daily, El Pais has produced a special edition yesterday afternoon with the headline "ETA's bloodbath in Madrid" printed above a picture of dead bodies lying on the ground beside the train wreck.
In its editorial, simply entitled "11-M", El Pais discusses the similarities between 9/11 and the Madrid attacks.
"In the sick minds of the terrorists Madrid equals the twin towers: Madrid is the symbol of everything ETA fights against in the same way the Islamic fundamentalists felt about the New York towers being a symbol of capitalism and the American way of life," the editorial says.
"Any time anyone places Madrid at the centre of their political debate, either for or against, they should think of the dozens of madrilenos, nearly all adopted, who died this morning at the hands of a blind and absurd terroism," the editorial concludes.
El Mundo's online edition led with pictures of the injured with the headline "ETA massacre in Madrid" running underneath. Their main reaction piece quoted Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar saying, "they killed them for being Spanish".
ABC also produced a special edition of its paper today and led with the headline "Massacre in Madrid". It too quotes Prime Minster Aznar as saying "Spain will not change its regime either because they kill or because they stop killing."
Most of the Spanish websites were full of horrific pictures from the attacks showing the victims and the extent of the damage. In a gesture for Spaniards living abroad many of Spain's major news websites, waived their normally subscription and allowed free access.