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A white van jumped up onto a sidewalk and sped down a pedestrian zone Thursday in Barcelona's historic Las Ramblas district, swerving from side to side as it plowed into tourists and residents. Police said 13 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in the terror attack.
The attack left people sprawled out on the ground in the city in northeastern Spain, some spattered with blood, others with broken limbs. As witnesses and emergency workers tried to help the wounded, police brandishing hand guns launched a search of side streets amid reports that at least one perpetrator and maybe more were holed up in a nearby bar.
5 suspects killed
The police force for Spain's Catalonia region says the five suspects shot and killed in the resort town of Cambrils were carrying bomb belts, which have been detonated by the force's bomb squad.
Police earlier Friday morning had said five suspects had been killed in the town south of Barcelona during the police response to a terrorist attack in which five civilians and one police officer were wounded. They said two suspects are in serious condition.
The force previously said it was working on the theory that the Cambrils suspects were linked to an attack late Thursday afternoon on a popular Barcelona promenade that killed 13 people and an earlier explosion in the town of Alcanar in which one person was killed.
The regional police said they cannot say yet how the civilians and police officer in Cambrils were injured. Local media have reported a vehicle crashed into a police car and nearby civilians and that police shot the attackers, included one brandishing a knife.
Daesh claims responsibility
Daesh claimed responsibility for an attack in which a van ran over pedestrians here in Las Ramblas boulevard. At least 13 persons were killed and more than 100 injured.
Confirming the death toll, Head of Catalonia's Regional Interior Department Joaquim Forn said in a tweet on Thursday: "My strongest condemnation of the terrorist attack in Barcelona. We can confirm 13 deaths."
He added that 15 of the injured were in serious condition and that the death toll was likely to rise, Efe news reported.
Claiming the attack, jihadi-affiliated news agency Amaq said the attackers were "soldiers of Daesh".
A white van jumped up onto a sidewalk and sped down a pedestrian zone Thursday in Barcelona's historic Las Ramblas district, swerving from side to side as it plowed into tourists and residents. Police said 13 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in the terror attack.
The attack left people sprawled out on the ground in the city in northeastern Spain, some spattered with blood, others with broken limbs. As witnesses and emergency workers tried to help the wounded, police brandishing hand guns launched a search of side streets amid reports that at least one perpetrator and maybe more were holed up in a nearby bar.
Also read: UAE condemns terror attack in Barcelona
Police immediately cordoned off the city's broad avenue, which is popular with tourists, and ordered stores and nearby Metro and train stations to close. They asked people to stay away from the area so as not to get in the way of emergency services. A helicopter hovered over the scene.
A few hours later, Catalan police tweeted: "We have arrested one man and we are treating him as a terrorist." They said no one was holed up in a Barcelona bar but began to evacuate stores on the sprawling avenue where dozens of people had taken cover.
The scene in #Barcelona after a van strikes several people. https://t.co/pBj4FJhytc Police have not released the number of dead and injured. pic.twitter.com/aB6OgiBnY2State-owned broadcaster RTVE reported that investigators think two vans were used - one for the attack and a second as a getaway vehicle. Las Ramblas, a street of stalls and shops that cuts through the center of Barcelona, is one of the city's top tourist destinations. People walk down a wide, pedestrian path in the center of the street but cars can travel on either side.
- USA TODAY (@USATODAY) August 17, 2017
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