Police cordon off a nearby street following a terrorist attack in central Barcelona, Spain, on Aug. 18, 2017. Thirteen people were confirmed dead and more than 100 others injured, with some of them in very serious condition in Barcelona terror attack on Thursday afternoon, a Spanish official said. (Xinhua/Ying Qiang)
At least four suspects have been killed in Cambrils, a town south of Barcelona, in an operation responding to a terror attack in Barcelona in which 13 people have been killed and more than 100 others injured, police said Friday.
About seven hours after the Barcelona attack, at least four and possibly five suspects were killed early Friday morning in Cambrils, about 120 km south of Barcelona, in what described by the police as another terror attempt.
The shootout in the night came after police launched a manhunt for the driver of a van that mowed through crowds of tourists on one of Barcelona's busiest thoroughfares Thursday, killing 13 people and injuring more than 100 others.
"We are working on the hypothesis that events in Cambrils respond to a terrorist attack. We have killed its alleged perpetrators," Catalan police wrote on Twitter.
Through social networks, the Barcelona police have asked residents in Cambrils and the adjacent region to stay at home to avoid danger.
"If you are in Cambrils avoid going out. Stay home, stay safe," the police tweeted.
Two suspects, one Moroccan and one from the Spanish north-African enclave of Melilla, have been detained in relation to the attack.
The center of Barcelona has been sealed off by security forces as the driver of the van was still at large.
The Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the massacre.
Images posted on the internet showed that the killed terrorists were wearing what appeared to be explosive belts.
It was the worst attack in Spain since March 2004, when Islamist militants placed bombs on commuter trains in Madrid, killing 191 people and wounding more than 1,800 others.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced three days of official mourning for what he called a "jihadist attack."
"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," he told the media in Barcelona.
