Barcelona terror cell planned to hit monuments
Suspects testify that group’s imam sought martyr’s death
Suspected members of the terror cell accused in last week’s van attack in Barcelona told a judge Tuesday that the group planned to attack monuments around the city and that the imam who led the group intended to blow himself up in the process.
Judicial sources at the hearing told the news media that Mohamed Houli Chemlal, who was injured in an accidental explosion the day before the attack, testified that he and other members of the cell were preparing bombs to target the city’s iconic Basilica Sagrada Familia and other sites. Chemlal said plans were scaled back after an accidental blast Wednesday, which killed two cell members and destroyed a home packed with gas canisters in the town of Alcanar, 120 miles south- west of Barcelona.
Reuters, the Associated Press and the BBC were among international media outlets reporting information from the closed hearing in Madrid, citing judicial officials who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss cases.
Police announced discovery of the cell after two attacks last week. Thursday, a van plowed into pedestrians in Barcelona, killing 13 people and wounding scores more. Cell members are accused of fatally stabbing a driver whose car was commandeered shortly after the attack.
The next day, one person was killed and six injured when a car hit pedestrians in the coastal town of Cambrils.
The suspected 12-member cell included the two who died in the Alcanar explosion —including imam Abdelbaki Es Satty — and five killed by police in the Cambrils attack. Four other suspects were arrested, and the alleged driver of the Barcelona van, identified as Younes Abouyaaqoub, 22, was killed by police Monday after a manhunt.
Multiple suspects identified Es
According to testimony, the terrorist cell was preparing bombs to target Barcelona’s iconic Basilica Sagrada Familia and other sites.
Satty as the ringleader of the group, the BBC reported.
Another suspect, Driss Oukabir, admitted renting the vans but said he had no knowledge of any terrorism plans, a judicial source said. Oukabir, whose brother Moussa was fatally shot by police in Cambrils, denied involvement in the cell.
The other suspects, Mohammed Aalla and Said el Karib, also were questioned. A judicial source told the AP that Aalla testified that his car, used in Cambrils, had been stolen.
Court documents say receipts show the Spain terror suspects bought knives and an ax minutes before the second attack, the AP reported.