Spanish policemen escort Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed (C), a suspect in the March 11, 2004 Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people, after his arrival at Barajas airport in Madrid, Nov. 17, 2006. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    MADRID, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Rabei Ousmane Sayed Ahmed, an alleged mastermind of the train bombings on March 11, 2004, in Madrid, on Thursday rejected all charges against him.

    "I don't recognize any of the accusations or any of the denunciations," he said when appearing in a heavily-guarded courtroom.

    Ahmed, also known as "Mohamed the Egyptian," was accused of inciting people to carry out the deadliest al-Qaida-related attacks in Europe, which killed 191 and injured about 2,000 people.

    Among the 29 defendants, three were charged with masterminding the attack, including Ahmed, while three were charged with placing bombs on trains.

    The six, including a Spaniard accused of providing explosives to the terrorists and killing one policeman during a police operation, face possible prison terms of 30 years for each of the killings and 18 years apiece for 1,820 attempted murders.

    The remaining 22 face charges that range from belonging to a terrorist group to stealing dynamite to sell to the bombers.

    Of 12 suspected ringleaders, only three are in court. Seven others blew themselves up to avoid arrest three weeks after the attack, one was killed in Iraq, and the remaining one is in fugitive.

    The testimonies are expected to last more than five months, anda verdict is expected in late October.

    The Spanish government first blamed Basque separatists for the bombings, but later discovered the attack was carried out by a homegrown cell of Muslim extremists angry at the then-government's support for the Iraq war.

    On March. 11, 2004, four trains in Madrid were attacked by bombs placed in carriages, killing 191 and injuring more than 1800 people. The bombings were the deadliest terrorist attack in Spanish history.

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