A witness said March 13 he had seen three men in winter gear near a suspicious vehicle shortly before powerful blasts ripped through suburban trains killing 199 people March 11.

The man, whose identity was not given, told Spanish television TVE's
Informe semanal programme, he was surprised to see the trio wear the gear in Alcala de Henares, east of the capital Madrid, when temperatures were rather mild.

Two of the men remained near the vehicle while the third, carrying a backpack and another bag, headed to the Alcala train station, from where the trains departed for Madrid, he said.

After the attacks, the man had told police about the suspicious van in which investigators found seven detonators and an audiotape of Koranic verses.

Interior Minister Angel Acebes had said the van was reported stolen.

The verses in Arabic were those 'usually used to teach the Koran,' and they 'did not contain any threat,' he added.

The find added a new element to the investigation into the blasts, which went off in rush-hour morning trains, wounding more than 1,400 people.

- AFP