Manhunt on for killer driver in Barcelona assault

POLICE yesterday hunted for the driver who rammed a van into pedestrians on an avenue crowded with tourists in Barcelona, leaving 13 people dead and more than 100 injured, just hours before a second assault in a resort along the coast.

Police said they killed five “suspected terrorists” during the night in the seaside town of Cambrils, 120km south of Barcelona where bystanders and police were injured in a second car attack.

Three others were arrested in other parts of the Catalonia region where both cities are located, but the driver responsible for the carnage in Barcelona remained at large, authorities warned.

The attacks are the latest in a wave of such assaults in Europe where vehicles have been used as weapons of terror.

In the Barcelona incident, claimed by the Islamic State group, a white van sped down a wide avenue packed full of tourists on Thursday afternoon, knocking people down and killing 13 in a scene of chaos and horror.

The driver left the vehicle and fled on foot.

Eight hours later in Cambrils, an Audi A3 car rammed into pedestrians, injuring six civilians – one of them critically – and a police officer, authorities said.

Gunfire ensued, in which police killed the five attackers. Some were wearing what appeared to be explosive belts, although Catalan interior minister Joaquim Forn later said they were fake.

As world leaders united in condemning the carnage, the IS propaganda agency Amaq claimed that it was carried out by “soldiers” from the jihadist group.

Police announced the arrest of three suspects, including a Spaniard and a Moroccan. — AFP