At least 13 people were killed and 100 injured on Thursday when a driver deliberately slammed a van into crowds on Barcelona's most popular street in what police confirmed was a terror attack. The attack, the latest in a wave of vehicle rammings across Europe in recent years, caused panic on the streets of Spain's largest city and drew condemnation from world leaders. "It was clearly a terror attack, intended to kill as many people as possible," Josep Lluis Trapero, senior police official, said. Here is everything we know. What happened? Footage appears to show damaged vehicle in cordoned-off Barcelona street 00:31 A white van, reportedly rented, rammed into pedestrians outside a kosher restaurant on a busy street in Barcelona shortly after 5pm on Thursday. Lawyer and University of Glasgow rector Aamer Anwar was walking La Ramblas when he heard screaming. He said a shopkeeper told him five or six people were badly injured and described the scene as "chaos". Mr Anwar said: "I had been to the Cathedral and walking down Las Ramblas for something to eat. Part of it was in the shade so I decided to keep walking down and literally within 10 seconds there was a crashing noise. Armed police respond to terror attack in Barcelona 00:27 "I turned around and people were screaming - 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. "I could see chaos right at the top area and I spoke to a shopkeeper who had run down and was screaming. He was Bengali so I spoke to him in Urdu and he said a van had driven into a crowd and he thought there were five to six people very seriously injured." Mapped: Barcelona van attack The suspects The driver of the van that mowed into the packed street was still on the run, Spanish police said on Thursday night. Josep Lluis Trapero of the regional police of Catalonia said two other people suspected of being involved in the terror attack had been arrested - a Spaniard and a Moroccan. One of the suspects arrested over the attack is a man born in the Spanish territory of Melilla in northern Morocco, he said. The other, Driss Oukabir, is Moroccan. A handout photo made available by Spanish National Police shows Maghrebi Driss Oukabir, alleged to have rented the van which was used to crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas Credit: Spanish National Police/ HANDOUT Neither of them had any criminal record, he added. In a further twist, Trapero said police suspected a deadly explosion late on Wednesday at a house in Alcanar 124 miles south of Barcelona was linked to the van attack. Trapero said the explosion left at least one person dead, and police suspected those in the house were "preparing an explosive device." "It seems there was an accumulation of gas that generated the explosion," he said, without giving further details. The Spanish suspect was arrested in Alcanar, while Oukabir was held in Ripoll in northern Catalonia. Isil claim responsibility "Soldiers" of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant carried out the deadly van attack, the jihadist organisation's propaganda outlet Amaq said. "The executors of the Barcelona attack were soldiers of the Islamic State," Amaq said on its Telegram messenger account, without naming those it claimed were behind the attack. Amaq said they had launched the attack in response to calls to target states taking part in the United States-led coalition battling the jihadist group in Iraq and Syria. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the attack was "jihadist terrorism" which required a global response. "Today the fight against terrorism is the principal priority for free and open societies like ours. It is a global threat and the response has to be global," Rajoy told a news conference in Barcelona. Isil, which once controlled a self-declared "caliphate" across large parts of Iraq and Syria, has suffered major losses in recent months. Coalition-backed Iraqi forces recaptured its Iraqi stronghold Mosul in July. World leaders condemn perpetrators and offer support to Spain Prime Minister Theresa May said she is "sickened by the senseless loss of life in Barcelona". "My thoughts are with the victims of today's terrible attack in Barcelona and the emergency services responding to this ongoing incident," she said. "The UK stands with Spain against terror." In a written statement, Mrs May added: "I am sickened by the senseless loss of life in Barcelona today. "The Foreign Office is working to establish if any British nationals were involved in this appalling incident and we are in close contact with the authorities in Spain, who have our full support. "Following the attacks in Manchester and London, Spain stood alongside the British people. Tonight, Britain stands with Spain against the evil of terrorism." Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, said: "My thoughts are with the Spanish people & those affected by #Barcelona attack. Together we will defeat terrorism" U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter: "The United States condemns the terror attack in Barcelona, Spain, and will do whatever is necessary to help. Be tough & strong, we love you!" The United States condemns the terror attack in Barcelona, Spain, and will do whatever is necessary to help. Be tough & strong, we love you!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017 Study what General Pershing of the United States did to terrorists when caught. There was no more Radical Islamic Terror for 35 years!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017 He later added: "Study what General Pershing of the United States did to terrorists when caught. There was no more Radical Islamic Terror for 35 years!" In Germany, the office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said they were thinking of the victims of the "revolting attack" with "profound sadness", while French President Emmanuel Macron voiced "France's solidarity" with Spanish citizens following what he called "a tragic attack". Russian President Vladimir Putin called for the world to unite in an "uncompromising battle against the forces of terror". "We decisively condemn this cruel and cynical crime against civilians," Putin wrote in a telegram of condolences to Spanish King Felipe VI. Police cordon off scene in Barcelona where van ploughed through a street 00:45 The dead and injured At least thirteen people have died, according to officials, and more than 100 injured. Witnesses spoke of a scene of carnage, with bodies strewn along the boulevard as others fleeing for their lives. "When it happened I ran out and saw the damage," local shop worker Xavi Perez told AFP. "There were bodies on the floor with people crowding round them. People were crying. There were lots of foreigners." Authorities said a Belgian was among the dead and an Australian woman was seriously injured. A Greek woman was also among the injured. Germany's Foreign Ministry said it was checking reports that Germans were among the victims. Authorities warned the death toll may rise, with 15 people seriously injured. Barcelona terror attack, in pictures
Forest fires cut off a village of 2,000 people in Portugal, as firefighters struggled Thursday to control two major blazes in the centre of the country, local officials said. Summer has seen a record number of fires and Portugal's Interior Minister Constanca Urbano de Sousa has blamed arsonists and human negligence for most of them.
No comments:
Post a Comment