A van driven into a crowd by Driss Oukabir in Barcelona has reportedly left 13 people dead. Oukabir has been arrested by Spanish authorities.
Driss Oukabir has been identified as the man responsible for the terrorist attack. Police in Barcelona are calling the van ramming incident a “jihadist terror attack.” Oukabir is reportedly a native of Morocco. According to various reports, Oukabir rented the van he used for the attack.
According to reports, a white van slammed into crowds on a popular tree-lined pedestrian in Barcelona’s Las Ramblas tourist district, killing at least one person and injuring 32 more. Spanish news media currently has the death toll as high as 13, with as many as 32 people injured.
#BREAKING Catalonia police tell us two armed suspects are in Barcelona, after hitting pedestrians with van. Treating it as "jihadist terror" pic.twitter.com/t5TrwhSEaQ
— Natasha Fatah
(@NatashaFatah) August 17, 2017
(@NatashaFatah) According to USA Today, one death has been confirmed, while the total unconfirmed death toll may be as high as 13 according to local media. Even more were injured in the attack, as 32 injuries have been reported and 10 are considered serious. Two suspects were seen fleeing from the van, and they are believed to be inside a restaurant in La Boqueria Market.
Furthermore, Spanish journalist Marta Pastor says that one suspect is believed to originate from the Maghreb, a region in Northwest Africa. The Maghreb is made up of four countries in the Middle East: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya.
via USA Today:
The Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that two suspects fled the scene, with at least one holed up in a bar. EFE, the Spanish news agency, said one of the suspects, wearing a blue and white sweather, managed to escape.
In a photo shown by public broadcaster RTVE, three people were lying on the ground in the street and were being helped by police and others, the Associated Press reported.
The Mossos d’Esquadra, the police force of the Catalan autonomous region, said on Twitter that “the counter-terror mechanism has been activated.” In Washington, the White House says President Donald Trump has been alerted to the unfolding situation in Barcelona.
Who is Driss Oukabir?
Driss Oukabir has been identified as the man responsible for the terror attack in Barcelona that left at least 13 dead and 32 injured on Thursday, August 17.
About Las Ramblas Tourist District
La Rambla is a street in central Barcelona, popular with tourists and locals alike. A tree-lined pedestrian mall, it stretches for 1.2 kilometers connecting Plaça de Catalunya in the center with the Christopher Columbus monument at Port Vell. La Rambla forms the boundary between the quarters of Barri Gòtic, to the east, and El Raval, to the west.
La Rambla can be crowded, especially during the height of the tourist season. Its popularity with tourists has affected the character of the street, with a move to pavement cafes and souvenir kiosks. It has also suffered from the attention of pickpockets and especially towards its southern end, sex workers.
The Spanish poet Federico García Lorca once said that La Rambla was “the only street in the world which I wish would never end.”
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