Friday 18 August 2017

Spain terror attacks: 13 killed and 100 injured in Barcelona and Cambrils attacks

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A van has been deliberately driven into pedestrians on one of Barcelona’s most popular boulevards, killing 13 people, and seven people have been injured in a separate attack in Cambrils, 120km away. Here’s what we we know so far:
  • Thirteen people have been killed  in the attack in Barcelona claimed by Isis that happened shortly after 5pm local time on Thursday, Catalonia’s interior minister Joaquim Forn has confirmed.
  • Hours later, police killed five terror suspects in the town of Cambrils as they ran over pedestrians. The suspects were travelling in an Audi A3 and some were wearing what looked like explosive belts. Six civilians and one police officer were injured.
  • Police are linking the killings in Cambril, the Barcelona attack and an explosion on Wednesday night in a house in Alcanar 200km away, in which one person died and several were injured. A second blast injured emergency services personnel, bringing the injury toll to 16, according to Spanish reports.
  • In Barcelona, one Belgian has been confirmed dead. Three Germans are also reportedly among the victims.
  • About 100 people were injured and 15 are in serious condition. The injured include four Australians, three Dutch, and three Greeks – a woman and her two children. At least 18 nationalities were affected, including France, Venezuela, Ireland, Peru, Algeria and China, according to Spain’s civil protection agency.
  • The Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, said the whole country country stands in solidarity with Barcelona, blaming “jihadi terrorism”.
  • In Barcelona, a white Fiat van reportedly sped at least 500 metres down a road, which is usually packed with people, until it hit a newspaper kiosk and stopped.
  • Television pictures showed people lying on the ground and a crashed van, which had stopped on top of a Joan Míro mosaic in Las Ramblas – an area which is very popular with tourists.
  • There have been two arrests. Neither are the driver of the van. Police said they were linked to the Barcelona attack and the blast in Alcanar.
  • Police released a photograph of the man alleged to have rented the van used in the attack. He is identified as Driss Oukabir . Later it was reported that Oukabir handed himself into police after seeing his photograph being circulated. He has reportedly denied involvement and told police his documents had been stolen.
  • One witness told Spain’s TVE television he saw the suspect when the van stopped. “It was a person in their 20s, he is very young, brown hair, a slim face,” they said.
  • World leaders, including Germany’s Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron, condemned the attack and sent condolences to the victims. Theresa May said: “The UK stands with Spain against terror.”
  • Donald Trump took to Twitter to call on the people of Barcelona to be “tough and strong”.
  • Boris Johnson, UK’s foreign secretary, said he is doing all he can to identify whether any British people need help in Barcelona.

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