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Third Suspect Detained After Attacks in Spain Third Suspect Detained After Attacks in Spain
(about 1 hour later)
A third person has been detained in connection with a night of terror in Spain, in which the driver of a van killed at least 13 people in Barcelona and several more were injured in a car-ramming attack in a seaside resort town, the Catalan authorities said on Friday. Largely spared the Islamic State attacks that have plagued Europe in recent years, Spaniards awoke Friday to a sobering new reality after a pair of vehicular assaults in Barcelona and a seaside resort town left 13 dead and scores wounded.
The authorities had been warning of an impending attack for some time, having raised the terrorism threat warning to its second highest level in 2015. Since the beginning of this year, the Spanish police have arrested at least 20 people suspected of links to the Islamic State militant group, the Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center said.
Nevertheless, the attacks, the deadliest in Spain in more than a decade, seemed to catch the country by surprise, adding it to the list of European nations — including Belgium, Britain, France and Germany — struck by similar assaults attributed to the Islamic State.
The police detained a third person on Friday in connection with the attacks, which killed and wounded people from at least 18 countries, and they were still hunting for the driver of the van that charged down Las Ramblas, a major Barcelona street crowded with pedestrians at the height of the summer holiday season.
Carles Puigdemont, the Catalan regional president, told Onda Cero radio that there was at least one “terrorist still out there,” The Associated Press reported, but it was not clear whether he was referring to the driver of the van.
The third suspect, who was detained in Ripoll, about 65 miles north of Barcelona, has not been identified, and it was not clear if the arrest was in connection with the attack in Barcelona, the second assault in the seaside town of Cambrils, or both.The third suspect, who was detained in Ripoll, about 65 miles north of Barcelona, has not been identified, and it was not clear if the arrest was in connection with the attack in Barcelona, the second assault in the seaside town of Cambrils, or both.
The Spanish authorities said the dead and wounded came from at least 18 countries, and the police were chasing leads in Barcelona and cities to the north and south in a fast-moving investigation. As the scope of the attacks began to emerge, perhaps the most troubling aspect was the apparent existence of a terrorist cell that coordinated the assailants’ actions that might, but for an accident while mixing chemicals for explosives, have been far more deadly.
The attacks were the worst in Spain in more than a decade, and they added the country to the list of European nations — including Belgium, Britain, France and Germany — that have been hit by a wave of terrorist assaults claimed by the Islamic State militant group in recent years. That mishap occurred just before midnight in the town of Alcanar, 120 miles southwest of Barcelona, and was first reported as a gas explosion. But as attacks unfolded in Barcelona Thursday afternoon and the resort town of Cambrils after midnight, the police soon made the connection to Alcanar.
The attack in Cambrils, about 70 miles southwest of Barcelona, was halted by the police only after the driver of an Audi A3 rammed his vehicle into a group of pedestrians, the Catalan authorities said, according to news accounts. Seven people were injured. The attack in Cambrils, about 70 miles southwest of Barcelona, was halted by the police only after the driver of a compact Audi A3 rammed his vehicle into a group of pedestrians, the Catalan authorities said, according to news accounts. Seven people were injured.
That second attack took place just hours after someone drove a van into a crowd of people on a pedestrianized stretch of Las Ramblas, a boulevard in the heart of Barcelona that is often filled with tourists. The Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia reported that the Audi had run through a security check at the entrance to the town, prompting a police chase. After driving into pedestrians, the five occupants emerged, wielding knives. But the police quickly descended, killing all five before they could commit any further mayhem.
Five assailants in the car in Cambrils were shot and killed, the police said, and they appeared to be wearing explosive vests, although the Catalan police said on Friday that the explosives were fake. The Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL, claimed responsibility for the attack in Barcelona, but there has been no such claim for the events in Cambrils. The five assailants appeared to be wearing explosive vests, although the Catalan police said on Friday that the explosives were fake. The Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL, claimed responsibility for the attack in Barcelona, but there has been no such claim as yet for the events in Cambrils.
“The alleged terrorists were in an Audi A3 and apparently knocked down several people before coming across a police patrol and a shootout ensued,” said a spokesman for the regional government of Catalonia, Agence France-Presse reported.
At least 80 people were injured in the attack in Barcelona. Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French foreign minister, said in a statement that 26 French were among the wounded, with 11 in serious condition. He also said that he would travel to Barcelona on Friday to “visit the French victims of this cowardly act and show France’s support to the Spanish people and authorities.”At least 80 people were injured in the attack in Barcelona. Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French foreign minister, said in a statement that 26 French were among the wounded, with 11 in serious condition. He also said that he would travel to Barcelona on Friday to “visit the French victims of this cowardly act and show France’s support to the Spanish people and authorities.”
A Spaniard and a Moroccan were taken into custody in connection with the Barcelona attack Thursday night. The Moroccan man, identified as Driss Oukabar, was arrested in Ripoll after he walked into a police station and said that his documents had been stolen. A national police official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a continuing investigation, said at least three vans had been rented under Mr. Oukabar’s name.A Spaniard and a Moroccan were taken into custody in connection with the Barcelona attack Thursday night. The Moroccan man, identified as Driss Oukabar, was arrested in Ripoll after he walked into a police station and said that his documents had been stolen. A national police official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a continuing investigation, said at least three vans had been rented under Mr. Oukabar’s name.
The Spaniard was detained in Alcanar, southwest of Cambrils, and the police were investigating whether he was connected to an explosion Wednesday night that killed one person and injured several others. The connection to Morocco will no doubt be a focus for the authorities: Several of the assailants involved in major terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels were of Moroccan descent or had relatives there.
The Spaniard was detained in Alcanar, southwest of Cambrils, and the police were investigating whether he was connected to the explosion Wednesday night, which killed one person and injured several others.
The police said they were still looking for the driver of the van after the assaults, the latest in Europe, claimed by Islamic extremists, in which assailants used vehicles to kill people in countries fighting the Islamic State.The police said they were still looking for the driver of the van after the assaults, the latest in Europe, claimed by Islamic extremists, in which assailants used vehicles to kill people in countries fighting the Islamic State.
The police are working on the hypothesis that the five assailants killed in Cambrils could be connected to the events in Barcelona, Agence France-Presse reported, and The Associated Press reported that the Catalan interior minister, Joaquim Forn, said the events were linked.The police are working on the hypothesis that the five assailants killed in Cambrils could be connected to the events in Barcelona, Agence France-Presse reported, and The Associated Press reported that the Catalan interior minister, Joaquim Forn, said the events were linked.
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany expressed her condolences to the Spanish government and “close solidarity” with the people of Spain “in these difficult hours,” her spokesman said.Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany expressed her condolences to the Spanish government and “close solidarity” with the people of Spain “in these difficult hours,” her spokesman said.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain declared three days of mourning, and a moment of silence was planned across the country at noon on Friday. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain declared three days of mourning, and a moment of silence was held across the country at noon on Friday.
Las Ramblas was still closed to traffic early Friday, and trains and buses were not stopping in the area. The police said that access to the area around Las Ramblas and Plaza de Cataluña would be restricted to pedestrians and that security checks would be conducted, and they warned people not to wear large backpacks or carry large bags.Las Ramblas was still closed to traffic early Friday, and trains and buses were not stopping in the area. The police said that access to the area around Las Ramblas and Plaza de Cataluña would be restricted to pedestrians and that security checks would be conducted, and they warned people not to wear large backpacks or carry large bags.
The Catalan authorities have asked the public to come forward with any information about the attack.