Free Republic

DUBAI : The purported claim from the Al-Qaeda terror network that it carried out the atrocities in Madrid set the world back on edge as stock markets plunged, nations tightened security and fears of worse to come spread. Spain's government has named the armed Basque separatist group ETA as prime suspect for the killing of 199 people Thursday when 10 bombs blew up at three Madrid rail stations during morning rush hour, injuring 1,400 more. US President George W. Bush declared, "We don't know who did this yet," adding "I wouldn't rule anybody out." But the unverifiable claim of responsibility...

<p>WASHINGTON -- A group purporting to be part of Al Qaeda that claimed responsibility for the Madrid train bombings and warned of a looming attack on the United States seems to be a phantom organization, according to US intelligence officials and terrorism specialists.</p>

The FBI is concerned about cyberterror, but bombs remain a bigger danger than bytes, the agency’s counterterrorism chief told a joint House Homeland Security subcommittee hearing on last month’s Northeast blackout. ... He also dismissed a subsequent claim of responsibility for the blackout by an alleged terrorist organization, Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigade, as “wishful thinking. We have no information confirming the actual existence of this group.”