Moroccan group behind Madrid attacks: Report

Other reports said the attacks on four commuter trains were meticulously planned over up to 20 days and that police were hunting for 20 Moroccans, who may also be linked to the Casablanca bombings of last year.

El Pais said police believed those who carried out the attack were linked to the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, which it said is financed by al Qaeda.

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The United States added the militant Islamist organization last April to its list of "terrorist groups." It said it emerged in the late 1990s and had members trained in Afghanistan.

El Mundo newspaper, quoting police sources, said police were hunting for 20 Moroccan citizens in connection with the Madrid attacks. It said the same people were also suspected by Morocco of having participated in bombings in Casablanca last May which killed 45 people, including 12 suicide bombers.

The Madrid bombers spent 15 to 20 days studying train timetables and the stations where to get on and off the trains, La Vanguardia reported. It said two groups of three bombers each placed the explosives that ripped apart four trains.

Spanish media had previously reported that police were still looking for five Moroccan men, part of a group of eight main suspects in Spain's worst attack. Three Moroccan suspects have already been detained.

As a traumatized Spain hunted its attackers and buried its dead, the United States urged friends and allies not to waver in the face of fears they too may be targets for more brutal attacks.