SEVEN PEOPLE WERE hurt overnight when “alleged terrorists” drove into pedestrians in the Spanish seaside resort of Cambrils before being shot dead by security forces, just hours after a similar attack in nearby Barcelona.
This evening police released the names of the three Moroccan suspects in the deadly attacks in Spain’s Catalonia region.
They were identified as Moussa Oukabir, aged 17, Said Aallaa, aged 18, and Mohamed Hychami, aged 24. Police said they were searching for a fourth suspect, Younes Abouyaaqoub, aged 22.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the two attacks has risen to 14, according to emergency services. The victims were from at least 34 different countries, Spain’s civil protection agency said.
A young boy from the UK, aged seven, is also reported to be missing following the attack. Julian Cadman’s grandfather, Tony Cadman, posted about it on Facebook. The boy’s mother was found in hospital.
One of the victims has been named as Italian Bruno Gulotta, who was on holiday with his partner and two children, according to his employer Tom’s Hardware.
The Audi A3 car rammed into people on the seaside promenade of the tourist city 120 kilometres south of Barcelona, where a van had earlier sped into a street packed full of tourists, killing 13 people and injuring around 100 others.
A minute’s silence was held in Barcelona’s main square today, during which the crowd shouted “we are not afraid”. The event was attended by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and King Felipe VI.
One of the injured in Cambrils is in critical condition, emergency services said.
The five attackers in the car were shot dead. According to police, they were wearing fake bomb belts.
It has also emerged that police have now arrested three people in relation to the Barcelona attack which killed 13 people and left over 100 injured.
It was also confirmed that an Irish family was among those caught up in the Las Ramblas attack.
Emmanuel Fernandez, the Consul General of the Philippines Embassy in Madrid, told Spanish radio that two of the family had been injured.
The father, he said, was injured “but okay”. The five-year-old son is more seriously hurt, however, and may need an operation.
The driver of the van in the Barcelona attack managed to escape and is still on the run.
Three suspects have now been arrested in relation to the Las Ramblas attack.
Arrests
In a further twist, one of the men was arrested in Alcanar, about 200 kilometres south of Barcelona at the scene of an explosion in a house late on Wednesday that left one person dead and seven wounded and is believed to be linked to yesterday’s assault.
One of the men, Driss Oukabir handed himself into police after images of him started circulating online. It had been claimed that Oukabir was the man who had rented the white Fiat van which ploughed into people in Las Ramblas. However, police are investigating Oukabir’s claims that his documents were stolen and that his link to any terror attack is false and a case of mistaken identity.
The attackers at Cambrils were in an Audi A3 and apparently knocked down several people before coming across a police patrol and a shoot-out ensued,” said a spokesman for the regional government of Catalonia, where Cambrils is located in Spain’s northeast.
Markel Artabe, a 20-year-old restaurant worker, said he was on the seaside promenade when he heard what he initially thought were fireworks, but soon realised were gunshots.
He said he saw someone lying on the ground “with a gunshot in the head”. The victim’s friends were crying out “help”, he added.
Joan Marc Serra Salinas, a 21-year-old waiter, said he heard many gunshots.
“And shouting. And more shouting. I jumped onto the beach and didn’t move,” he said.
Police said they were “working on the hypothesis that the terrorists shot dead in Cambrils could be linked to what happened in Barcelona”.
There were at least 18 nationalities among the Barcelona victims who came from countries as varied as France, Venezuela, Australia, Ireland, Peru, Algeria and China, according to Spain’s civil protection agency.
The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) said it is working with its members across Ireland to support holidaymakers in the region. Cormac Meehan, president of the group said: “Spain and Ireland have been important tourist partners for many years. This year, almost two million Irish citizens will visit Spain.
Our advice to Irish holidaymakers in Barcelona or intending to travel to Barcelona is to exercise a high degree of caution and to follow all the advice of the local authorities. Passengers are likely to experience disruption and delays and are advised to stay in touch with their travel agent, carrier airline or tour operator.
Thirteen people were killed and more than 100 injured when a white van sped into the historic promenade, which was packed with tourists, knocking people down in a scene of chaos and horror.
Spain was hit by what is still Europe’s deadliest jihadist attack in March 2004, when bombs exploded on commuter trains in Madrid, killing 191 people in an attack claimed by Al Qaeda-inspired extremists.
In July 2015, a hooded attacker opened fire outside a hotel in downtown Barcelona near Las Ramblas boulevard, leaving two people injured, police said.
No suspected motive for that attack was given.
With reporting by Paul Hosford and - © AFP 2017
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