Spain has declared three days of national mourning following today’s terror attack in Barcelona that killed 14 and wounded more than 100.
Local official: 13 dead, at least 100 injured in #Barcelona attack. pic.twitter.com/bVmSE1WYmA
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 17, 2017
Who are the victims of the Las Ramblas terror attack? Three-year-old child reported among dead https://t.co/mLX76ofAaa
— Telegraph Breaking News (@TelegraphNews) August 18, 2017
@NatashaFatah with news on suspects allegedly involved in the terror attack in #Barcelona #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/PIrKw2E1fC
— Power & Politics (@PnPCBC) August 17, 2017
"We were just about to cross Las Ramblas. We were very lucky" – eyewitness holed up in #Barcelona churchhttps://t.co/uaauW6rmRZ pic.twitter.com/Gnjvkn6HaU
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) August 17, 2017
Video shows disturbing scene after vehicle hits crowd of people on a busy Barcelona street; injuries reported. https://t.co/V2G604oJP2 pic.twitter.com/5VRmDUzvtG
— ABC News (@ABC) August 17, 2017
Here are the latest updates:
- Spanish Prime Minister Marian Rajoy said the attack was “jihadi terrorism.”
- A few hours ago, Spanish police killed 5 suspected terrorists in Cambrils, 120km south of Barcelona. They were reportedly wearing fake explosives and believed to be plotting a follow-up attack. Six civilians and one police officer were injured.
- Two suspects are under arrest but neither is believed to be the driver of the van who ran down the pedestrians in the Las Ramblas shopping district popular with tourists. One is from Morocco, the other from Melilla — a Spanish enclave across the Strait of Gibraltar.
- Reports reveal that victims of the attack come from 34 different countries. At least one fatality has been confirmed to be a Belgian tourist according to Belgium’s Foreign Ministry. The only named victim so far is Italian, Bruno Gulotta.
- One of the terrorists, Moussa Oukabir, had posted on social media: “Kill all the infidels and leave only Muslims.” Oukabir is believed to be the driver of the van.
- His brother, Driss Oukabir, claims that Moussa stole his identity to rent the vans and that he wasn’t involved.
- The explosion at a house yesterday in Alcanar which killed two is believed to be related to the attack. It was originally attributed to a gas line explosion, but police are saying the house was being used as an IED factory. Twenty-plus gas canisters were found at the scene. The premature explosion may have prompted the terror cell to act earlier than planned. Two VBIEDs could have killed considerably more.
- ISIS’ Amaq news agency claimed its “soldiers” committed the attack. They are encouraging more vehicle attacks via their official social media channels.
- The CIA had reportedly told Spanish police that Las Ramblas was a likely terror target two months ago.
- Fog of war: Early reports that the terrorists had taken hostages in a restaurant proved to be false. A driver who drove through a police checkpoint injuring two police officers before being shot and killed is not believed to be involved in the terror attack.
https://twitter.com/RaheemKassam/status/898265087869243392
- This is the sixth Islamic terror attack since July 2016 in which civilians were targeted by terrorists driving vehicles: Nice, France; Berlin, Germany; Stockholm, Sweden; and twice in London.
- As I reported here at PJ Media earlier this month, there have already been **eight** terror attacks this year in France.
- Barcelona has been an active hub of jihadist activity in Spain. More than 30 percent of Spanish ISIS supporters radicalized and detained are from the Barcelona area. In January 2008, a major terror cell plotting to target Barcelona’s public transit system was disrupted by police.
The number of fatal terrorist attacks in western Europe increased in 2016 https://t.co/jGSM0ckM9a pic.twitter.com/GzyNVfPpUd
— Reuters Graphics (@ReutersGraphics) July 12, 2017
Madrid to Manchester to Barcelona: A chronology of terror in Europe https://t.co/ep09RwxDMa pic.twitter.com/bYa5DHpM1n
— DW News (@dwnews) August 17, 2017
Germany's Refugee-Driven Terror Problem Out of Control After a Dozen Incidents Since Jan 2016 https://t.co/4r8LtCh3tG via @pjmedia_com
— Patrick Poole (@pspoole) July 31, 2017
Jihadist Arrests in EU Doubled Last Year, Rising for Third Year in a Row: Europol https://t.co/xkOSh7Egqo via @pjmedia_com pic.twitter.com/ylwbhP5Px3
— Patrick Poole (@pspoole) June 16, 2017