Spanish policeman killed in gunfight with terror suspect

At least one person, reported to be a senior Spanish police officer, died following an explosion and a shoot-out between police and suspected Islamist terrorists on the outskirts of Madrid last night.

Emergency services confirmed that a 50-year-old man had been killed and seven more people were injured in the explosion at an apartment block in Leganés, on the southern fringes of Madrid.

The blast reportedly caused significant damage to the building.

Spanish radio reports said it was possible there were more dead at the scene - possibly Islamist terrorists - and that some of the injured were also police officers.

An Interior Ministry spokesman confirmed that police were scouring the area for suspect Islamist terrorists who they believe may have been involved in the train bombings that killed 190 people and injured 1,900 in Madrid on 11 March.

Several helicopters with powerful searchlights were involved in a hunt for at least three men, reportedly of north African appearance, who were said to have fled from the building.

Earlier reports had said the bomb blast was a controlled explosion carried out by the police.

Witnesses told the Cadena Ser radio station last night that there had previously been a shoot-out between police and suspected terrorists who had then holed up in the building where the explosion later happened.

An emergency medical post had been set up near to the scene of the explosion and more than 20 ambulances were reported heading for the area.

Police evacuated neighbouring buildings and recommended to people living nearby that they kept the blinds to their homes down. Traffic was cut to several streets.

The explosion came a day after police discovered a bomb hidden under the high-speed railway line linking Madrid with the southern city of Seville.

Authorities yesterday confirmed that bomb was made of the same Goma 2 Eco explosives used in the bombs that ripped through packed commuter trains heading into Madrid on 11 March.

Police had earlier in the week issued photographs of six men of Moroccan and Tunisian origin who they believed had been involved in the Madrid bombings. Tunisian Sarhane Ben Abdelmajid Fakhet has been named as the alleged ring-leader of the Madrid bombers.

The Spanish army yesterday began watching the country's rail network in order to try to prevent further bomb attacks.

Trains began running on the high-speed line again yesterday morning after services were suspended for most of Friday.