Barcelona attack live updates: Driver on the run as police foil SECOND plot 70 miles away

Updates:

Van of Peace Culturally Enriches Barcelona

A TERRORIST who rammed a van into shoppers on Las Ramblas, killing 13 and leaving more than 100 injured, could still be on the run in Barcelona as police reveal he is not among those arrested.

Armed Police search Barcelona streets following attack
• Local reports say Las Ramblas attack driver made off on foot after mowing down dozens of tourists• Shortly after the attack shop workers reported a hostage situation in the Luna de Istanbul restaurant, near the La Boqueria Market – police later denied hostages were taken• Armed police stormed Barcelona city centre, while a second van was searched 40 miles away

• Two policemen were hit by driver outside of the city, but officials are yet to confirm if the events were connected

• Police confirmed 13 dead and more than 100 injured, 15 have sustained serious injuries. Belgian tourist confirmed dead, as well as three German nationals

• Two people have been arrested and another is currently on the run – local media have reported one man was also shot dead

• Another man has been reportedly been arrested in Catalan town of Ripoll in connection with the attack

• ISIS have claimed responsibility for the attack

• Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy has confirmed attack was ‘jihadist’

• Bomb squad have carried out searches across the city

• Man being hunted by police has claimed his ID was stolen

• Explosion at a house yesterday confirmed to be linked to terror attack, Spanish police have revealed

• And another terror plot been foiled in Cambrils, 68 miles south west of Barcelona, just after midnight on Friday

• Five suspects killed and one arrested, more injured in a shootout with the police

Related:

…CNN’S BLITZER: SPAIN TERRORISTS COULD BE COPYING AMERICAN NAZIS…

Terror attack on Las Ramblas, Barcelona, many hurt

Las Ramblas terror attack: People hit by van on Las Ramblas

And Spanish police have now foiled a terror plot shortly after midnight, 68 miles south west from Barcelona in the town of Cambrils.Five suspected terrorists have been killed in a shootout with Catalan police in Cambrils, with video footage appearing to confirm gunfire at the scene.

Catalan police confirmed they killed multiple “perpetuators of a terrorist attack” in the town.

The raid in the coastal town of Cambrils is linked to a “possible terrorist attack”, Catalan police reported.

They would not say whether it was linked to the Barcelona attack.

Barcelona terror: Spanish police hunt for THIS manPOLICE HANDOUT

Las Ramblas terror attack: Barcelona tourists killed in the street by van driver

Shoppers and tourists were hit by the van on the popular strip in the Catalan capital on Thursday afternoon.Horror images emerged of victims lying bloodied in the street, as 13 people are confirmed dead in the attack claimed by Islamic State (ISIS).Around 100 people are injured, 15 seriously, while Catalan authorities have said the death toll could rise.

Urgent messages were released by police as they hunted a man in connection with the terror attack.

However, Spanish media said Driss Oukabir has handed himself in in the town of Ripoll, in Gerona, insisting his ID had been stolen.

Two men have been arrested – one from Morocco and one from the Spanish enclave of Melilla, North Africa.

La Vanguardia newspaper said one of the suspected perpetrators had been killed in a shootout with police on the outskirts of Barcelona, but this was unconfirmed.

Meanwhile, Catalan police said a driver hit two officers as they held a road block outside of Barcelona.

It is currently unclear if the incidents were linked.

A house explosion on Wednesday in which one person died has been confirmed to be linked to the terror strike.

The incident in Catalonia was caused by a build up of gas at around 10.15pm the night before the attack, authorities said.

Las Ramblas terror attack - 13 killed in BarcelonaEPA

Las Ramblas: Terror in Barcelona as at least 13 dead

Local media initially reported a Turkish restaurant on Carrer Tallers, near to the Boqueria food market, was at the centre of a hostage situation.Witnesses claimed people were held in Luna Istanbul Restaurant, but police have denied any civilians are caught up in the drama.Armed police remain in the city centre as they hunt for the driver – or drivers.

Bomb squad officers have formed a ring of steel around the city as they activate their planned response to terror.

A police Twitter statement said: “If you are in the area of Plaça Catalunya in Barcelona stay where you are until the police says that you can get (out).”

Las Ramblas terror attack: Barcelona tourists hurtTWITTER

Las Ramblas terror – Barcelona revellers hit by van

El Periodico newspaper reported gunfire in the area of La Boqueria Market, although it did not cite the source of the information.In the earlier incident, the van entered the Rambla near the Plaza de Catalunya and drove down the central pedestrianised area, zigzagging at high speed along the pavement in an apparent attempt to maximise the damage caused.Disturbing videos have emerged of tourists covered in blood, laying helpless in the street, in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

Barcelona terror: Attack on Las Ramblas kills 13 TWITTER

Las Ramblas terror: Man cared for in the street after attack

The van crashed into a kiosk on the boulevard before the attacker fled on foot, with the vehicle said to be a rented white rented Fiat, registration 7082 JWD.The public transport system in the city was shut down in the immediate aftermath of the attack.Eye witnesses said they saw the driver flee with “something in his hand”, yet many were frozen to the spot as the extent of the carnage dawned on them.

Witness Tom Gueller told the BBC: “I heard screams and a bit of a crash and then I just saw the crowd parting and this van going full pelt down the middle of the Ramblas and I immediately knew that it was a terrorist attack or something like that.

“It wasn’t slowing down at all. It was just going straight through the middle of the crowds.”