The first funeral services were held Saturday for victims of the bombings on Madrid's commuter trains.

One of the nearly 1,500 people injured in Thursday's attacks has died, raising the death toll to 200.

Hundreds of people packed a gymnasium in the town of Alcala de Henares, 25 kilometres east of Madrid, for two funerals. The town is home to 40 people who died when at least 10 bombs went off in four trains.

Mourners at one of the funerals Saturday (AP photo)
Mourners at one of the funerals Saturday (AP photo)

Three of the four trains bombed originated in Alcala de Henares.

Crews using heavy equipment have started to remove the wrecked carriages where the number of wreaths and flowers laid near the tracks continues to grow.

The funerals come amid preparations for a general election on Sunday and confusion over who is to blame for the attacks.

On Saturday, Interior Minister Angel Acebes said the armed separatist Basque group ETA remained the prime suspect, but that the government didn't rule out an al-Qadea link – that "several lines of investigation" are open.

Later in the day, Acebes announced the arrest of five people in the investigation. They were identified as three Moroccans and two Spaniards of Indian origin.

A group tied to al-Qaeda, the Abu Hafs Al Masri Brigades, has claimed responsibility for the attacks, while ETA has denied it had any role. Neither claim has been verified as geniune.

An estimated 11 million people, more than a quarter of Spain's population, took part in marches on Friday to condemn the violence.