A Spanish judge has charged 29 people with the 2004 Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people, and ruled that al-Qaida was not involved.

Judge Juan del Olmo charged five suspects with 191 counts of murder and more than 1,700 counts of attempted murder - the number of victims wounded. The other suspects were charged with collaboration. Most of the suspects are Moroccans or Spaniards.

The murder charges could lead to prison sentences of thousands of years, but under Spanish law prisoners can be held for a maximum of 40 years.

Judge del Olmo said the suspects were inspired by al-Qaida, but said there was no direct link to the terror group.

He also ruled out any connection to the Basque separatist group, ETA.

The suspects are expected to go on trial sometime next year.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.