13 dead and more than 100 injured as van driver brings terror to Barcelona

13 people have died and at least 100 have been injured in today’s Barcelona van attack;
Vehicle careered into pedestrians in the city’s Las Ramblas district shortly after 4pm GMT.

Authorities have arrested two people; one of them named as Driss Oukabir (pictured below). Unconfirmed reports state a third suspect died in a shoot-out with police The so-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack in Barcelona is related to an explosion which killed one person last night in Alcanar.

At least 13 people have been killed and more than 100 injured after a van ploughed into pedestrians in a terror attack in a busy tourist area of Barcelona. Spanish police arrested two people after a white Fiat van tore through the Las Ramblas district, which was packed with shoppers and holidaymakers.

The vehicle careered into terrified pedestrians in the busy tree-lined promenade, one of the most popular parts of the city. Regional interior minister Joaquim Form confirmed the latest number of injured people and warned the death toll may rise.

The two suspects in custody are a Spanish national from Melilla and a Moroccan but neither was the van driver, Catalan authorities said. Officials are also linking the van attack to an explosion in Catalonia the previous day in which one person was killed.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the terror attack, the deadliest on Spanish soil since more than 190 people died in the Madrid train bombs in 2004. In another incident, police said a driver had run over two officers in a town north of Barcelona, but it was not clear if the incident was related to the van attack.

Local media reports said a white Ford Focus ran over the officers and that a person from the car was shot and killed by officers. Following the van attack, police had reportedly been searching for a man named Driss Oukabir after the passport of a Spanish citizen, of Moroccan origin, was found at the scene.

But El Pais newspaper said Oukabir had denied being involved in the attack and told police that his documents had been stolen. There were also reports that detectives believe two vans were used, one for the attack and a second as a getaway vehicle.

Catalonian police said 15 people were seriously injured in the attack. The Government of Catalonia said regional president Carles Puigdemont had declared three days of mourning. Senior police official Josep Lluis Trapero said the attack van drove on to the pavement, swerving among pedestrians in a crowded area, and was “clearly a terror attack intended to kill as many people as possible”.

He said the van driver made off on foot and is not believed to be armed. Lawyer and University of Glasgow rector Aamer Anwar described the aftermath of the attack in Las Ramblas. He told the Press Association: “I could see a woman screaming with her kids. People started running and jumping into shops.

“I ran for about 50 or 100 metres and stopped to see what was happening.
“The police were very quickly on the scene and getting people to move back.”