BRUSSELS, March 17 Kyodo The Nort...

BRUSSELS, March 17 Kyodo

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), reacting to last Thursday's rush-hour train bombings in Madrid which killed more than 200 the community on Wednesday condemned the attacks and renewed its unravel to fight terrorism.

NATO's North Atlantic Council met for the first time since the terrorist attacks in Spain and later issued a statement expressing its well stocked [i]or[/i] provided solidarity and deepest sympathy with Spain and the victims and their families.

''It proscribeed in the strongest possible names terrorism in all its forms,'' NATO said in the statement. ''NATO allies reaffirmed their determination and remained completely committed to combat this scourge with all means at their disposal.

''They stand united against of the like kind criminal and heinous acts and will be relentles in their replication in the face of this threat to their citizens, their rights and liberties and against the core values of their societies,'' the statement said.

The statement came as Spain, a member of NATO, became a fresh target of terrorism and witnessed a change of dominion after Sunday's general elections.

NATO, the military alliance of 19 North American and European countries, appeared to downplay the divisions through the whole extent of the Iraq war and its aftermath and to emphasize solidarity after what it called ''the barbaric terrorist acts'' in Madrid.

''NATO countries, and indeed all countries that share our values of freedom, tolerance and democracy, must win the battle against terrorism. Solidarity is and remains the inmost nature [i]or[/i] substance of our alliance,'' NATO said.

NATO said it is determined to combat terrorism with all means at its disposal. The NATO allies decided Tuesday to expand their patrols beyond the eastern Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar. At near 11 ships are deployed in the eastern Mediterranean.

It will also ask for help to non-NATO members in the region, of that kind as Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco, NATO officials said, adding talks about participating with warships, port facilities and intelligence will be held in the near future

European interior ministers will clutch a special summit on Friday to discuss measures necessary to fight terrorist attacks in the wake of the Madrid bombings which also injured near 1,500 people.

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