Vehicle rampage terrorizes another European city
Speeding van in Barcelona kills at least 13 in terrorist trend of low-tech strikes
Police thwarted an attack by a terror cell suspected of blowing up a house and killing more than a dozen people by plowing a van into a crowded pedestrian walkway.
Police shot five men, killing four, Thursday night in Cambrils, a beach town south of Barcelona.
Spanish public TV reported that some of the suspects in the Cambrils incident carried explosive belts, and seven civilians were injured. Police asked citizens in the town not to leave their homes.
Cambrils, pop. 33,000, is a small coastal city and a popular tourist destination.
The van attack happened in the Las Ramblas tourist district and injured at least 100.
It was the latest in a trend of vehicular terrorism that requires little organization, manpower or technological know-how. Vehicles have been used to plow into pedestrians in the United Kingdom twice this year, including an attack in June on London Bridge that killed eight people and one in March on Westminster Bridge in which four pedestrians and one police officer were killed. In late December, a truck plowed into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and wounding nearly 50.
Police Maj. Josep Lluis Trapero said at a news conference that the van attack was “connected” to a house explosion the night before in a town south of the city in which one
person died and several more were injured.
Police detained two people in connection with the attack, said Carles Puigdemont, president of Spain’s Catalonia region. Police said at an evening news conference that the van driver was still on the loose.
Catalan regional police identified Oukabir Driss, 28, a Moroccan citizen and legal resident in Spain, as the man suspected of renting the van.
The U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks terrorist networks, said the Amaq News agency, which is linked to the Islamic State, reported that the extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack.
The attack unfolded Thursday afternoon as pedestrians filled the bustling Las Ramblas district, an area lined with stalls and shops in the center of Barcelona. August is the peak of the tourist season in the city, a popular destination for Americans.
The van entered Las Ramblas at the northern edge, jumped the sidewalk and barreled into the central pedestrian zone. It careened more than 600 yards, zigzagging through the crowds. It came to stop atop the famous Joan Miró mosaic, where the attackers fled.
The state-owned broadcaster RTVE reported that investigators said two vans were used — one for the attack and a second as a getaway vehicle, according to the Associated Press.
“We can confirm this was a terror attack. The counterterror protocol has been activated,” the Catalan police tweeted.
Laia González, 22, a recent university graduate who lives nearby, was getting ready to go out and shop with her parents when they heard screaming.
“We went out on the balcony and saw many people running, stumbling over each other, screaming in absolute horror, going inside shops, and shops shutting down,” she said. “All you could hear was screaming and the loud noise of (stores’) metallic blinds.”
Albert Tort, 47, a nurse who lives in the area, told the Spanish newspaper El Pais that the scene of the carnage was a “real disaster.”
“I have tried to revive a young man, but it has been impossible,” Tort said.
In Washington, the White House said President Trump was alerted to the attack. Trump tweeted that the United States condemns the attack and “will do whatever is necessary to help. Be tough & strong, we love you!”
The CIA warned Barcelona police two months ago of a possible terrorist attack targeting Las Ramblas, the Catalunya daily newspaper El Periodico reported.
El Periodico said Barcelona has been on alert since last year when the Islamic State showed a picture of La Sagrada Familia — the most famous church in the city — among other notable landmarks, such as the Coliseum in Rome, Big Ben in London and the Statue of Liberty in New York, as high-risk targets.
“We went out on the balcony and saw many people running, stumbling over each other, screaming in absolute horror.” Laia González, 22