At least 180 men, women and children are reported to have been killed in Madrid this morning, after a number of bombs exploded at rail stations during rush hour.

According to initial reports, the majority of the fatalities occurred at the city's Atocha rail station when bombs ripped through a train packed with commuters. Two subsequent blasts rocked separate stops on the same line at El Paso and Santa Eugenia.

More than 400 people have been injured and hospitals inundated with casualties have appealed for emergency blood donations from the public.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Spanish government have blamed Basque separatist group Eta. A claim apparently denied by the militant group. However, the attack ranks as the worst single terrorist atrocity carried out in Spain, which has had to deal with an Eta terror campaign for 40 years.

The Foreign Secretary Jack Straw expressed his "profound shock and anger" at the atrocities, saying that he had spoken to his Spanish counterpart Anna Palacio to offer his condolences.

"And I have told her that the British people sadly have had similar experiences of such disgusting terrorist atrocities and that we stand shoulder to shoulder with the Spanish people and government in their fight against this kind of terrorism," he said.

"These atrocities come just a few days before the Spanish General Election so we have all to recognise too that these atrocities are a disgusting assault on the very principle of European democracy as well."

Nato Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, also condemned this morning's attack as a "mindless act of cruelty and barbarism".

(gmcg)