A driver crashed a van into pedestrians thronging a popular tourist area in the center of Barcelona, Spain, on Thursday, killing 12 people in an attack for which the the Islamic State claimed responsibility. At least 80 were wounded, Catalan officials said, and two people have been taken into custody.
Witnesses described people screaming and running for their lives as the driver of the van wove back and forth just before 6 p.m., apparently trying to hit as many people as he could. Police officers swept through the area near Las Ramblas, a wide boulevard with a large pedestrianized section, telling people to get out of the area.
“I heard a crowd screaming,” Tom Markwell, a tourist from New Orleans, told the BBC after the attack, the latest in a series claimed by Islamist militants involving vehicles plowing into crowds. “It sounded like they were screaming for a movie star.”
Until Thursday, Spain had been spared from the recent wave of terrorist attacks in Europe, committed by extremists in France, Germany, Britain and elsewhere.
In a statement issued by the Islamic State’s news agency on the messaging app Telegram, and citing a “security source,” the Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency said that the “perpetrators of the attack in #Barcelona are soldiers of the Islamic State.”
It added that the assailants had acted on the command of the group’s caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who in speeches has ordered supporters to carry out acts of terror in countries fighting the Islamic State.
After the attack, the police told people not to pass through the area near Plaza de Cataluña and Las Ramblas in the heart of the city, popular destinations for tourists.
The Barcelona police said they had put in place their protocols for dealing with serious attacks, the Catalan emergency services said that they had asked the authorities to close metro and train stations in the area.
Keith Fleming, an American who lives just off Las Ramblas, told The Associated Press that he was watching television when he heard a noise, looked out over his balcony and “saw women and children just running and they looked terrified.”
Mr. Fleming said that the street was deserted, with the exception of police officers with guns drawn or in riot gear. “It’s just kind of a tense situation,” The A.P. reported him as saying. “Clearly people were scared.”
Facebook activated its safety-check feature for Barcelona, and taxis were reportedly giving free rides to help people get out of the city center.
American counterterrorism officials in Washington said they were in contact with Spanish authorities to offer any assistance, but underscored that the investigation had just started.
President Trump said on Twitterthat the United States condemned the attack and would “do whatever is necessary to help, telling Spaniards to “Be tough & strong, we love you!”
We appreciate you for reading Teeloadeders, but we think it will be better you like our facebook fanpage and also follow us on twitter below.
Title :
AT LEAST 13 DIED AND 50 WERE HURT IN A TERRORISM ATTACK IN BARCELONA.
Description : A driver crashed a van into pedestrians thronging a popular tourist area in the center of Barcelona, Spain, on Thursday, killing 12 people i...
Rating :
5
