MANHUNT FOR SPAIN TERROR COWARDS
THERESA May vowed to defeat the “evil of terrorism” yesterday as she offered British support to Spain over the two jihadist attacks which claimed 14 innocent lives.
Mrs May said we stand “shoulder to shoulder” with the Spanish after Islamic State thugs used a car and a van to mow down pedestrians in the Catalan region.
Thirteen people were killed and up to 100 injured when a white van was driven into tourists and shoppers at up to 50mph on Barcelona’s popular Las Ramblas boulevard.
Later a 61-year-old woman was left with fatal injuries as members of the same Spanish-based Moroccan terror cell tried to emulate the carnage 80 miles away in Cambrils.
Police gunned down the five-man gang after they rammed members of the public with an Audi A3.
Four of the terrorists were shot and killed by the same policewoman.
Eighteen-year-old Moussa Oukabir, the gang’s ringleader and believed to be the man who escaped after driving the van down Las Ramblas, was among the five killed.
Police were last night believed to be still hunting three suspects.
Mrs May spoke of her determination to beat the terror gangs as she revealed that a seven-year-old British boy was missing and several other Britons were injured in Barcelona.
Poisonous
She said Foreign Office staff had offered consular assistance to the families of Julian Cadman and the other UK nationals.
“We must work together if we are to confront this evil of terrorism,” she added.
The Prime Minister said investigators needed to tackle the “perverted extremist ideology which drives [attackers]” and cleanse the web of “poisonous material”.
Mrs May ended by promising police would have the necessary power to tackle the scourge, and concluded: “Terrorism is the threat that we all face but together we will defeat.”
Meanwhile the Queen sent a message of support to Spain’s King Felipe VI on behalf of herself and the Duke of Edinburgh.
“It is deeply upsetting when innocent people are put at risk in this way when going about their daily lives,” she said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost loved ones and the people who are recovering in hospital.
“Please convey our heartfelt sympathies to all who have been affected by these appalling incidents.” The condolences came as more detail emerged about the sequence of events surrounding the attacks on Thursday night and yesterday morning.
Eight hours after a white Fiat van caused carnage on Las Ramblas, a policewoman shot dead four jihadis who charged her in the coastal town of Cambrils.
They were among a gang of five who had driven an Audi A3 into crowds on the seafront at 1am, before trying to escape.
One woman, a 61-year-old from Zaragoza, suffered fatal injuries in the attack and six others were injured. The jihadis then crashed into the police checkpoint, injuring the policewoman’s partner, before leaping out, brandishing knives and an axe, and wearing fake suicide belts. It is understood that the female officer pulled her handgun and shot four of the gang dead as they charged at her. The fifth thug ran into a park and was gunned down minutes later
by a policeman. However he clambered to his feet with a smile on his face and ran at armed officers who eventually needed 15 bullets to kill him.
Catalan police chief Josep Luis Trapero confirmed that a single officer, who was meant to be on holiday this week, killed four of the terrorists.
“To kill four people, even if you are a professional, is not easy to digest.”
Together with linking Moussa Oukabir to both outrages, it also became clear yesterday the Barcelona and Cambrils incidents were linked to an explosion in the town of Alcanar on Wednesday, where one person died and six were injured.
The Alcanar house – which was blown up by butane gas canisters being stored there – is believed to have been used as a base to plan the later attacks and a centre for bomb making.
Meanwhile Scotland Yard Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley yesterday urged any holidaymakers who might have useful footage from the attack scenes to come forward.
Mr Rowley, Britain’s most senior counter-terrorism officer, said his detectives were also working alongside their Spanish counterparts.
“Officers are at UK ports today ready to meet British holidaymakers returning to the UK from the region in order to take any witness accounts,” he said.
“Anyone who has returned from Spain can also call the confidential hotline with information on 0800 789 321.
“We are also urging people who have images or footage that may assist investigators to upload them to Ukpoliceimageappeal.com.” Europol’s chief Rob Wainwright said the Spain attacks had left Europe on its highest ever state of terror alert.
“Terrorism at its most simple and brutal. And highly challenging for police to stop. Highest threat in Europe for a generation,” he said.
But tourism chiefs said the attacks would not deter holidaymakers visiting destinations singled out by the terrorists.
Tom Jenkins, chief executive of the European Tour Operators Association, said the public have an increasingly “sophisticated” understanding of the threat. These things are designed to have an impact. We’re finding the impact is gradually decreasing.
“The public are becoming more sophisticated…they realise Europe is not one homogeneous destination.
“The fear generated by such events is irrational, but people are starting to rationalise it better. Thirty years ago, you would have a major haemorrhaging in demand.”
YESTERDAY the people of Barcelona, despite the sadness in their hearts, went back to business. Their determination to carry on was a clear display of defiance and a message to the terrorists that they will not win.
The losers who carry out attacks such as those in Spain or Finland can never hope to eradicate the liberal way of life that is enjoyed across Europe. From Berlin to London we have witnessed the cities targeted by terror returning as quickly as possible to normal.
As Tim Newark notes on this page a joint military effort has had great success in repelling Islamic State and winning back the territory they held. But while we have been ruthless with the jihadists abroad we still seem squeamish about countering what is happening on the streets of Europe.
People’s willingness just to get on with things cannot be allowed to mask the fact that real change is needed. If we come to accept these attacks as part and parcel of daily life then all is lost.
Theresa May was impressive yesterday when she spoke of the evils of terror but these fine words are only worth so much.
As we mourn with our friends and allies in Europe it is time at last for these terror attacks to be met with a proper response.