A POLICEMAN was killed and seven people injured in an explosion during an antiterrorist operation in a town south of Madrid last night.

Police had cordoned off an area in the town of Leganes where they were hunting for several suspects wanted for questioning in connection with the 11 March Madrid railway bombings.

Luis Serrano, spokesman for the Madrid Regional Emergency Service, confirmed that one 50-year-old man was killed in an explosion in a building where the suspects were believed to be hiding.

He said seven people were slightly injured.

The Spanish news agency Efe said the man killed was a policeman.