Spain's two largest newspapers, El Pais and El Mundo, have begun a fierce row over their reporting of investigations into the Islamist train bombings that killed 191 Madrid commuters two-and-a-half years ago.
The outbreak of hostilities between the country's most influential dailies follows the publication in El Mundo of a series of interviews with a small-time Spanish crook accused of supplying the explosives used in the bombings.
In the interviews Jose Emilio Suarez claims the bombings hid what was effectively a coup d'etat that brought the Socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to power.
Zapatero's Socialists won the national election held three days after the Madrid bombings, ousting a People's party that had led in opinion polls published prior to the bombings.
"I am the victim of a coup they have tried to hide behind a bunch of Muslims," Suarez claimed.
On Wednesday El Pais published part of a conversation between Suarez and his parents -- apparently recorded by authorities during a prison visit -- which it claimed showed El Mundo had paid him.
Socialist-supporting El Pais accused El Mundo of "yellow" journalism and stirring up conspiracy theories, including the idea that Basque group ETA may have been involved in the attacks.
On Thursday El Mundo denied paying Suarez and claimed El Pais had taken his words out of context.
In a widening of the media war, privately owned radio stations have taken sides. The conservative ABC newspaper, the third largest Madrid-based daily, has also attacked El Mundo.
El Mundo has long been a critic of El Pais' powerful owner, the pro-socialist media magnate Jesus de Polanco, who owns TV, radio and publishing interests.
The spat between the newspapers also reflected a continuing campaign by the People's party to cast doubt on the police investigation into the Madrid bombings.
The campaign has also split the People's party itself, as those close to former prime minister Jose Maria Aznar keep the conspiracy theories bubbling while other senior figures complain this damages the party's chances of re-election.
"There are more shadows than there is light in this case," former minister Eduardo Zaplana said in parliament on Wednesday, claiming evidence appeared to have been hidden or falsified.
Madrid Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, of the People's party, this week called on the party to leave the investigation to the police and courts and concentrate, instead, on criticizing government policy.
Zapatero's government, meanwhile, accused the People's party of failing to get over its initial error in insisting that the attacks had been carried out by Basque terrorist group ETA.
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