Three Days of Public Mourning as Third Barcelona Attack Suspect Arrested

The third suspect in the Barcelona attack has been arrested. The Catalan regional government has declared three days of official public mourning. A second terrorist attack has been foiled. Police link the second attack to the Barcelona incident. Thirteen people were killed in the Barcelona attack.

Following the terrorist attack on Thursday (August 17/Mordad 26) in Barcelona, Spain that left 13 dead and over 100 injured, the security agencies of this country continue their intense efforts to apprehend the perpetrator of this assault.

On Friday (August 18/Mordad 27), the third suspect in the Barcelona attack was also arrested. According to the French news agency, Spanish police announced that this man was arrested in the city of Ripoll in the Catalan region, approximately 100 kilometers north of Barcelona. On the previous day, a Moroccan man was also arrested in the same area, who was reportedly connected to the van used in the terrorist attack.

Another suspect was arrested by security officials in the city of Alcañiz in the south of Catalonia. This suspect is identified as a Spanish man from the overseas territory of Melilla. The two suspects arrested on Thursday were not, however, the van driver. The identity of the suspect arrested on Friday remains unclear.

Carles Puigdemont, president of the Catalan regional government, warned on Friday that there is still one “terrorist” at large. It is possible that this government official is referring to what he calls a “dangerous” fugitive as the van driver.

Previous reports indicated that the man who on Thursday drove a van into a large number of people in the tourist neighborhood of “La Rambla” in Barcelona has still not been arrested. The van driver fled the vehicle after the attack. The famous “La Rambla” boulevard is one of the busiest and most crowded tourist areas of the Barcelona metropolitan area.

According to eyewitnesses, a white van traveling at high speed drove into the crowded, tourist-filled street of Barcelona and caused many people to be killed and injured.

Only a few hours after the deadly Barcelona incident, a similar attack occurred in the small city of Cambrils, located approximately 100 kilometers south of the center of Catalonia.

In this regard, Spanish authorities said that police officers in the early morning hours of Friday killed 5 suspects involved in terrorist operations who were equipped with suicide belts in the city of Cambrils. According to Spanish authorities, in this way, a second terrorist attack in the country was foiled.

According to Spanish police, the attackers in Cambrils, like in the Barcelona incident, hit a number of people with a van. On this basis, one police officer and 6 passersby were injured.

Spanish police called the Barcelona incident “terrorist,” and the terrorist group “Islamic State” (formerly ISIS) has claimed responsibility for it.

Reports of the presence of German tourists among the victims of the Barcelona incident have also been released. The German television network ZDF, citing security circles, reported that 3 Germans are among the victims of the Spanish terrorist attack. However, this news has not yet been officially confirmed.

The Catalan regional government, in mourning for the victims of the deadly Barcelona attack, has simultaneously declared three days of official public mourning.