Govt says terror cell dismantled

The terror cell behind the attack in Barcelona that left 13 people dead has been dismantled, Spain’s Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido says.

“The cell has been fully dismantled in Barcelona, after examining the people who died, the people who were arrested and carrying out identity checks,” he told a news conference.

But the regional Catalan government said there could be further arrests.

A key suspect linked to the Barcelona attack and a later one is still sought.

Thursday’s attack in the Catalan capital saw a van driven at high speed along Las Ramblas where it smashed into dozens of people walking along the pedestrianised avenue popular with tourists and residents alike.

Spanish police are searching for Moroccan-born Younes Abouyaaqoub, 22, who they suspect may be the driver who escaped the scene on foot.

Only hours later, early on Friday, there was a second van attack in Cambrils, west of Barcelona. A woman was killed and police shot dead five suspected attackers, including Moussa Oukabir, 17, originally reported as the key suspect in the Barcelona attack. Oukabir is suspected of using his brother’s documents to rent the van used in Barcelona and another found hours later in the town of Vic, north of Barcelona, that was intended as a getaway vehicle.

The terror cell is reported to comprise 12 men. The Catalan Interior Minster, Joaquim Forn, stressed that the Police operation could not be considered over until all those suspected of being part of the cell were in custody.

Police say the suspects had been planning more sophisticated attacks, but an explosion on Wednesday at a house in the town of Alcanar deprived them of bomb material, so they carried out simpler attacks using vehicles.