In Spain, jihadists used a rental van to drive through a pedestrian heavy street in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona. As of this writing, 13 people have been killed and nearly 80 people are injured.
The attack happened in the Las Ramblas area, where a van rented by a “Driss Oubakir”, but officials have neither confirmed nor denied he was the driver. As apparently, Oubakir’s documents were used to rent the van, he was not the driver and not present at the scene of the crime. People who saw the attack unfurl said the driver escaped on foot after it was over.
People who saw the attack said the car was deliberately trying to hit people: “weaving side to side as it drove down the boulevard”.
As with Charlottesville,Virginia and the United Kingdom, Europe is not new to these sort of attacks. Random, aimed at soft targets (civilians), and a wanton complete disregard for human life, radicalists have used motor vehicles to great effect. By targeting populated areas that have heavy foot traffic, radicalists aim to cause the most amount of chaos in as tight of a space possible that would fit a car or van.
Witnesses near the scene of the attack said that people were screaming very loudly, and when they turned to see why , a van was driving around, swerving around not trying to stop at all.
Other witnesses explained that the boulevard was packed with families, especially with children. Police presence however, was incredibly fast, with many police officers on the scene as it was happening. Police then urged people to back away from the area as fast as possible. Most people were swamped together and moved into nearby stores and restaurants to escape from the street.
The Islamic State (ISIS) had been a claimant to the attacks, but none of that information can be verified whether or not the radicalists were connected to the organization.
Two arrests have been made by Spanish police: a Moroccan and a man from Melilla.
Also in conjunction with the attacks hours before, someone was killed in an explosion 62 miles away from Barcelona.
UPDATED AS THIS ARTICLE WAS BEING WRITTEN
In the city of Cambrils, Spanish police reported that several people had been killed in what is being assumed as a possible “second terrorist attack”. The attack was thwarted, but the investigation and search for others is still underway, and told people in Cambrils and nearby to stay indoors.
Source Used
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40965581
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-barcelona-idUSKCN1AX1W6?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=Social
Updated Article
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40971004?ocid=socialflow_twitter
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