Latest: Police confirm officers shot and killed four suspects in separate alleged terror plot south of Barcelona

Spanish police have said they have killed four attackers in the coastal town of Cambrils in a separate alleged terror plot to the Barcelona terror attack which left at least 13 people dead and more than 100 injured after a van ploughed into pedestrians in a busy tourist area of the city.

Latest: Police confirm officers shot and killed four suspects in separate alleged terror plot south of Barcelona
  • 13 people have died and at least 100 have been injured in today's Barcelona van attack;
  • Vehicle careered into pedestrians in the city's Las Ramblas district shortly after 4pm Irish time.
  • Authorities have arrested two people; one of them named as Driss Oukabir (pictured below).
  • Police confirmed neither of those in custody was the driver behind the atrocity.
  • A manhunt is under way for the terrorist who drove the van into pedestrians.
  • The so-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
  • The attack in Barcelona is related to an explosion which killed one person last night in Alcanar.
  • Spanish police have killed several people in the town of Cambrils, south of Barcelona, in relation to the terror attack, shortly after 1am Irish time.
  • The situation in Cambrils where four attackers have been shot dead and one injured, is said to be under control as police operations continue.

Update: 02:32amFour suspected terrorists have been shot dead and another injured by Spanish police in a second attack to hit Catalonia.

Seven people were reportedly injured in the coastal town of Cambrils when a group, said to be wearing "explosive belts", launched a van attack similar to that which left 13 people dead and over 100 injured in Barcelona.

Police urged locals to take cover as they swooped on an area close to Cambrils' beach-front promenade in the early hours of Friday morning

Update 01:09amSpanish police say they have killed several people in the coastal town of Cambrils, south of Barcelona in response to a terrorist attack.

Reports of an operation by security services in Cambrils emerged shortly after 1am local time, some eight hours after a van driver killed 13 people and injured more than 100 in a terrorist attack in Barcelona.

Bystanders could be seen running for cover and several gunshots heard in footage posted on social media that appeared to have been filmed on the town's beachfront promenade.

Two people were arrested after the earlier incident, when a white Fiat van tore through the Las Ramblas district, which was packed with shoppers and holidaymakers.

Police confirmed neither of those in custody was the driver behind the atrocity, which Spain's prime minister Mariano Rajoy described as "jihad terrorism".

Update: 00:42amA manhunt is under way for the terrorist who drove a van into pedestrians in a busy tourist area of Barcelona, leaving at least 13 people dead and more than 100 injured.

Two people have been arrested after a white Fiat van tore through the Las Ramblas district, which was packed with shoppers and holidaymakers on Thursday afternoon.

Police confirmed neither of those in custody was the driver behind the atrocity, which Spain's prime minister Mariano Rajoy described as "jihad terrorism".

Prime Minister Theresa May said she was "sickened" by the incident and the Foreign Office was trying to determine if there were British victims.

A Belgian man was confirmed among the dead, while authorities warned the death toll may rise, with 15 people seriously injured.

The Islamic State terror group claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest on Spanish soil since more than 190 people died in the Madrid train bombs in 2004.

Earlier:At least 13 people have been killed and more than 100 injured after a van ploughed into pedestrians in a terror attack in a busy tourist area of Barcelona.

Spanish police arrested two people after a white Fiat van tore through the Las Ramblas district, which was packed with shoppers and holidaymakers.

The vehicle careered into terrified pedestrians in the busy tree-lined promenade, one of the most popular parts of the city.

Regional interior minister Joaquim Form confirmed the latest number of injured people and warned the death toll may rise.

The two suspects in custody are a Spanish national from Melilla and a Moroccan but neither was the van driver, Catalan authorities said.

Officials are also linking the van attack to an explosion in Catalonia the previous day in which one person was killed.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the terror attack, the deadliest on Spanish soil since more than 190 people died in the Madrid train bombs in 2004.

In another incident, police said a driver had run over two officers in a town north of Barcelona, but it was not clear if the incident was related to the van attack

Local media reports said a white Ford Focus ran over the officers and that a person from the car was shot and killed by officers.

Following the van attack, police had reportedly been searching for a man named Driss Oukabir after the passport of a Spanish citizen, of Moroccan origin, was found at the scene.

Driss Oukabir
Driss Oukabir

But El Pais newspaper said Oukabir had denied being involved in the attack and told police that his documents had been stolen.

There were also reports that detectives believe two vans were used, one for the attack and a second as a getaway vehicle.

Catalonian police said 15 people were seriously injured in the attack.

The Government of Catalonia said regional president Carles Puigdemont had declared three days of mourning.

Senior police official Josep Lluis Trapero said the attack van drove on to the pavement, swerving among pedestrians in a crowded area, and was "clearly a terror attack intended to kill as many people as possible".

He said the van driver made off on foot and is not believed to be armed.

Lawyer and University of Glasgow rector Aamer Anwar described the aftermath of the attack in Las Ramblas.

He told the Press Association: "I could see a woman screaming with her kids. People started running and jumping into shops.

"I ran for about 50 or 100 metres and stopped to see what was happening.

"The police were very quickly on the scene and getting people to move back."

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