Barcelona ‘terror attack’ kills 13, over 50 injured

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The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) has claimed responsibility for a deadly van-ramming attack in one of Barcelona’s busiest tourist areas.

At least 13 people were killed and 100 injured after a suspect ploughed a white van into a crowd at around 5pm on Thursday in the bustling Las Ramblas area, a 1.2-kilometre stretch of shops and restaurants usually heaving with tourists.

Spanish police said the suspected driver was still on the run and that they had arrested two other people in connection with the attack. Police cordons had been set up around the city.

“The executors of the Barcelona attack were soldiers of the Islamic State,” ISIL’s Amaq outlet said on its Telegram messenger account, without naming those it claimed were behind the attack.

Amaq said ISIL had launched the attack in response to calls to target states taking part in the United States-led coalition battling the group in Iraq and Syria.

ISIL has claimed several similar attacks in Europe over the past year. Police described Thursday’s violence as a “terrorist attack”.

El Pais newspaper said the driver of the vehicle had fled on foot after the attack.

It was still unclear how many attackers had been involved in the incident.

Catalan police said yesterday they had killed the perpetrators of a “terrorist attack” in the town of Cambrils, south of Barcelona, following a police operation.

Spain’s public broadcaster, RTVE, reported that regional police troopers killed four people and injured another. It was not clear if the operation was connected to Thursday’s van attack.

Catalan emergency services said on Twitter that people in Cambrils should “stay home, stay safe”.

The Thursday van attack in the northeastern Catalan city was the country’s deadliest since 2004 when al-Qaeda-inspired bombers killed 192 people in coordinated attacks on Madrid’s commuter trains.

Joaquim Forn, Catalonia’s interior minister, confirmed the death toll on Twitter.

There were fears the death toll could rise given the severity of some injuries.

At least one Belgian national — a woman — was among those killed, the country’s Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said on Twitter.

There were at least 18 nationalities among the victims who came from countries as varied as France, Venezuela, Australia, Ireland, Peru, Algeria and China, according to Spain’s civil protection agency. — Al Jazeera

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