14 dead in twin attacks as Spanish police launch manhunt
August 18, 2017 - Spanish police hunted Friday for the driver who ploughed a van into crowds of pedestrians on a busy avenue in Barcelona, just hours before a second such assault hit a nearby resort, in twin attacks that left 14 dead and over 100 injured.
Police said they killed five "suspected terrorists" during the night and three others were arrested as Spain reeled from the double tragedy in Barcelona and in Cambrils, some 120 kilometers (75 miles) south, AFP reported.
But the driver responsible for the carnage in Spain's second largest city remained at large, authorities warned, while police said they believed the two attacks were connected.
In a poignant moment, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, King Felipe VI and the president of Catalonia where both places are located held a minute of silence in Barcelona that was followed by applause and shouts of "not afraid."
Both attacks followed the same modus operandi, with drivers deliberately targeting pedestrians with their vehicles, slamming them to the ground or sending them flying in the latest such assault in Europe where cars and vans have been used as weapons of terror before.
Javier Zaragoza, a prosecutor advising the attorney general in terrorism matters, told AFP the attacks were most likely the work of an organized "cell."
Otso Iho of Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre added there appeared to be "a much higher level of coordination than has been typically present in previous attacks."
In an additional twist, police said an explosion in a house in another part of Catalonia Wednesday evening was potentially linked to the attacks, believing those inside "were preparing an explosive device."
As world leaders united in condemning the violence, the terrorist Daesh group propaganda agency Amaq claimed one of its "soldiers" carried out the rampage in Barcelona.
In the Barcelona incident, a white van sped down the popular Las Ramblas avenue packed full of tourists on Thursday afternoon, knocking people down and killing 13 in a scene of chaos and horror.
Then just eight hours later attackers struck again in the early hours of Friday morning, this time in the seaside resort of Cambrils where an Audi A3 car rammed into pedestrians, injuring six civilians and a police officer. One of the civilians later died.
Gunfire ensued during which police killed the five attackers.
Police announced the arrest of three suspects, including a Spaniard and a Moroccan.
Carles Puigdemont, Catalonia's president, warned the suspect still on the run was potentially dangerous, saying "these types of people have already demonstrated they have the will to harm whatever happens."
Spain, the world's third most popular tourism destination, had until now been spared the recent terrorist attacks that have rocked nearby France, Belgium and Germany.