Massive Europe-wide manhunt for driver who ploughed through Las Ramblas crowd killing 13 – as suspect ‘who rented van points finger at younger BROTHER who stole his ID’
A EUROPE-WIDE manhunt is still underway for the terrorist who killed 13 people and injured 130 as he mowed down pedestrians in Barcelona's Las Ramblas yesterday.
Driss Oukabir, the man accused of renting the killer van, has pointed the finger at his younger brother, Moussa, and claimed the 18-year-old "stole his ID".
Driss Oukabir, 28, was declared a suspect by Spanish police after it was revealed the van was rented in his name.
Spanish media claims he handed himself in to police after seeing his face on news reports.
It has been reported Oukabir denied blame and told investigating officers his brother Moussa, 18, stole his ID.
Police sources have now said baby-faced Moussa is being hunted as the suspected driver, according to .
But the hunt for him could be over after police this afternoon said five terrorists shot by cops in Cambrils could have been the van driver.
Four suspects have been arrested so far - including a Spanish national from Melilla and two Moroccans. Their identities have not been released.
It is not known what connection any had to the attack in Barcelona's famous Las Ramblas tourist area.
reports Driss Oukabir told cops he was in Ripoll, Girona - 50 miles away from Barcelona - at the time of the attack.
Police sources backed up claims he told officers his brother stole the documentation they found inside the van.
According to his Facebook account - which has since been removed - Driss is from Marseilles, France but lives in Ripoll, Catalonia, about 50 miles north of Barcelona.
reported he is a Moroccan citizen, born in the town of Aghbala, and a legal resident in Spain.
The driver of the van which mowed people down on the busy Las Ramblas avenue left the vehicle on foot and did not appear to be armed, a Catalan police official told a news conference.
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A white van mounted the pavement of Barcelona's famous Las Ramblas in the Placa Catalunya tourist area and struck several innocent victims at around 5pm yesterday.
The rampaging vehicle zigzagged through the Las Ramblas area mowing down innocent people prompting terrified families to run for their lives.
Police have confirmed that the van used in the sick assault had no explosives inside.
There are reports two vans may have been used, one for the attack and a second as a getaway vehicle after investigators found another van 70km away in the town of Vic.
Disturbing footage and pictures from the scene show bodies scattered around the blood-splattered ground of the tourist hotspot as armed cops quickly responded to the emergency.
At least 34 nationalities are among the victims, Spain's civil protection agency said - including British, German, Belgian and Argentinian.
NATIONALITIES AFFECTED BY SPAIN TERROR
Germany
Algeria,
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Morocco
Canada
China
Colombia
Romania
Venezuela
Cuba
Ecuador
Egypt
Spain
America
Philippines
France
Britain
Greece
Holland
Taiwan
Honduras
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Kuwait
Macedonia
Mauritius
Pakistan
Peru
Dominican Republic
Turkey
Brit Julian Cadman, seven, is missing after he was separated from his mum during the Barcelona terror attack.
Theresa May said the UK is looking into reports of a missing child in Barcelona.
It comes as Belgian Elke Vanbockrijck, 44, was named as the first dead victim of yesterday's attack.
Italian dad-of-two Bruno Gulotta was also confirmed dead.
Elke was on holiday with her husband and sons when they were caught up in the atrocity.
Twenty-six of the injured are French citizens, the country's Foreign Ministry confirmed, with 11 in a serious condition.
The ISIS-affiliated news agency Amaq has said that “soldiers” of the brainwashed death cult carried out the attack.
The propaganda outlet said via messaging app Telegram: "The executors of the Barcelona attack were soldiers of the Islamic State.”
The Cell of Tarragona, a Moroccan group who returned from Syria, are thought to have planned both the Las Ramblas attack and a later attack in Cambrils that left one dead and six injured.
Between eight and 12 people are thought to be in the group.
The van tragedy came hours before a second "terrorist attack" in Cambrils - a seaside town popular with Brits around 70 miles south of Barcelona.
Seven people were injured when five jihadis wearing fake suicide belts rammed an Audi A3 into pedestrians. One victim has since died.
All five attackers were shot dead by police and their vests were detonated by the Catalan police force's bomb squad — and police think one of them may have been the Barcelona van killer.
Las Ramblas reopened this morning, with residents and tourists allowed past police lines back to their homes and hotels.
- WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
- At 5pm on Thursday, a white Fiat van ploughed into a crowd in tourist hotspot Las Ramblas in Barcelona
- At least 13 people were killed and 130 more injured as the driver mowed down innocents along a 500m stretch of the packed pedestrian area
- The driver then fled the carnage on foot and is still believed to be on the run
- Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the van attack was a result of 'jihadist terrorism' and ISIS has since claimed responsibility
- At least four men have been arrested in connection with the attack including Driss Oukabir - a 28-year-old Moroccan who is believed to have rented the van.His brother Moussa Oukabir, 18, stole his ID
- Victims are from 34 countries. A seven-year-old British boy is feared to be among the victims as Theresa May says she is "urgently" looking into reports
- Eight hours later, one person was killed and seven injured after five terrorists carry out second terror attack in Cambrils - 68 miles from Barcelona
- Jihadists wearing fake suicide vests rammed an Audi A3 into pedestrians and were shot dead by police when the car flipped
- One of the five terrorists, who were armed with knives and axes, killed in Cambrils could have been the driver of the van which killed 13 people in Barcelona
- Officials are linking the attacks with an explosion that killed one person at a house 124 miles away from Las Ramblas on Wednesday
- WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
Police closed down the city centre in a bid to catch the driver last night.
A demonstration and minute's silence honoring the victims will be held at the Plaza Catalunya, next to the top of the Ramblas, at midday.
A senior police official in Barcelona last night said the rampage was "clearly a terror attack, intended to kill as many people as possible."
The driver of the rented Fiat van, registration 7082 JWD, ran away from on foot after the smash.
Marc Esparcia, a 20-year-old student who lives in Barcelona, told the : "There was a loud noise and everybody ran for cover.
"There were a lot people, lots of families [at the site], this is one of the most visited sites in Barcelona.
"I think several people were hit. It was horrible, there was panic. Terrible."
Barcelona FC wrote in a statement: "Our hearts are made smaller by this attack. Sending strength and love to the victims, their families and the citizens of Barcelona".
A local festival planned for last night was cancelled in response to the slaughter.
Steve Garrett was in a nearby market and sheltered in a bakery with several others after streams of people ran inside.
One member of the group, who took refuge with him, said she had heard gunshots after the incident.
Mr Garrett told the BBC: "A very large number of people ran into the market area in a big kind of way, lots of screaming, lots of shouting.
"The security guards immediately responded. We ran into the bakery with four or five other people and ran straight upstairs and hunkered down whilst an enormous wave of people went through the market.
"Obviously coming from England it was reminding me a great deal of what happened in London, so we were very concerned about what might be going on next.
"The lady that was with us said she heard some gunshots."
Mr Garrett said a "second wave" of people then entered the market, followed by armed police.
He said: ";They seemed to sweep through the market area. They seemed to be looking for someone. They were going very carefully, very cautiously, stall to stall."
Eyewitness Aamer Anwar, human rights lawyer, told Sky News: "I did not see the van mount the pavement. I heard the crash.
"People started screaming and everybody ran in the opposite direction.
"The shopkeeper we spoke to said a van had mounted the pavement and driven into a crowd and at least five or six people, he thought, were very seriously injured."
Ada Colau, the President of Catalonia, the autonomous Spanish state where Barcelona is the capital, has cancelled her holiday and is returning to the city.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the van attack was "jihadist terrorism" which required a global response.
He told a news conference in Barcelona: "Today the fight against terrorism is the principal priority for free and open societies like ours. It is a global threat and the response has to be global."
The prime minister says the residents of Paris, Nice, Brussels, Berlin and London "have experienced the same pain and uncertainty that those of Barcelona suffer today."
In a written statement, British Prime Minister Theresa May said: "I am sickened by the senseless loss of life in Barcelona today.
"The Foreign Office is working to establish if any British nationals were involved in this appalling incident and we are in close contact with the authorities in Spain, who have our full support.
"Following the attacks in Manchester and London, Spain stood alongside the British people. Tonight, Britain stands with Spain against the evil of terrorism."
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: "Our thoughts are with the victims of these terrible attacks and the people of Spain.
“We are currently assisting a small number of British people affected and are working to find out if any more need our help. We have deployed additional staff to Barcelona and have offered support to the Spanish authorities.”
President Donald Trump tweeted: "The United States condemns the terror attack in Barcelona, Spain, and will do whatever is necessary to help. Be tough & strong, we love you!"
Vehicle attacks since last summer
VEHICLES have become the weapon of choice for terrorists in Europe with automotive violence striking several countries since last summer.
Stretching from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia innocents have been mown down in the streets as the vile attacks sweep the continent.
Since last summer there have been vehicle attacks in:
- Nice - 14 July 2016
- Berlin - 19 December 2016
- London - 22 March 2017 (Westminster Bridge) 3 June 2017 (London Bridge)
- Stockholm - 7 April 2017
- Barcelona - August 17
A huge explosion at a house in a town outside Barcelona on Wednesday is related to the Las Ramblas terror rampage, cops said.
One person died and seven others were injured, one of them seriously, in the blast at a home in the town of Alcanar.
Firefighters believe a build-up of gas caused the explosion which destroyed the home, while authorities found about 20 butane and propane gas bottles at the scene.
The British Foreign Office guidance for Spain reads: "Terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Spain.
"Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners.
"Spanish police have disrupted a number of groups suspected of recruiting individuals to travel to Syria and Iraq from 2015 to the present date.
"Some of them expressed an intention to carry out attacks in Europe.
"There’s a heightened threat of terrorist attack globally against UK interests and British nationals from groups or individuals motivated by the conflict in Iraq and Syria."
Did you see what happened in Barcelona? Are you in the Las Ramblas area now? Please get in touch with us on 0207 782 4397 or email [email protected]