Barcelona attack – CIA ‘warned cops in Spain terrorists might launch terror attack on tourist hotspot Las Ramblas TWO MONTHS ago’
THE CIA warned cops in Barcelona that La Ramblas might be a terror target two months ago, it has been reported.
At least '13 people are dead' and 100 have been injured after a van ploughed into people crossing the road.
The US spy agency even warned the Mossos d'Esquadra regional police that jihadis might specifically target the tourist hotspot, reports.
However, the motive behind the attack has not yet been established by the Spanish authorities.
Witnesses to the terror attack in Barcelona have described the carnage after a van smashed into pedestrians at tourist hotspot Las Ramblas.
A witness told Spanish TV station TV3: "A van attacked people, it came out flying.
"It is a hell of blood."
Deborah, a witness to the outrage who is currently locked inside her shop close to the scene, told Spanish TV station Antena 3:"I see the police and ambulances pass by.
"I am barricaded inside. A lot of people have come to hide in the store. We have a family with little girls in here."
Diego, another witness said: "A lot of screams have been heard and I went out to the balcony.
"There are a lot of people lying on the ground, a lot of blood. Some of them looked like they were dead."
Will Ako, 26, from London, was eating in a restaurant called Taller De Tapas with his family when they heard a disturbance.
He told the Press Association: "We had just finished eating and were about to leave when we heard a commotion and the patrons in the restaurant rushing from their seats.
"I then saw people running to the east of the restaurant and I saw a couple of people about 30 yards down the road crouching around what looked like someone on the ground and they were calling for assistance.
"Within a couple of minutes, police started to arrive and they were running west of the restaurant and some were telling us to stay inside.
"Soon after, loads of cars, bikes and ambulances arrived and then the armed police."
He said he was in the restaurant with around 40 people, adding: "We're not sure what's happening."
Amar Anwar, a human rights lawyer, told Sky News: "I did not see the van mount the pavement.
- WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
- A van hit a crowd in the tourist hotpsot Las Ramblas in Barcelona, an area packed with people, at around 5pm on Thursday
- Thirteen people have died and 100 more were injured in the attack
- At least 18 nationalities are among the victims, Spain's civil protection agency said
- Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said van attack result of 'jihadist terrorism'
- The driver of the vehicle was seen fleeing on foot and a manhunt is underway
- At least two men have been arrested in connection with the attack, but neither were the driver of the vehicle, cops said
- A driver later ran into two officers at a Barcelona police checkpoint - but police say it was not linked to the Las Ramblas attack
- Officials are linking the van attack with an explosion that killed one person at a house 124 miles away from Las Ramblas on Wednesday
- ISIS has said it carried out the van attack, according to its Amaq agency
- Seven people are injured and five terrorists have been killed in a second terror attack in Cambrils
- The bloodshed erupted in the early hours of Friday in the resort town located 70 miles south of the earlier attack.
"I heard the crash. People started screaming and everybody ran in the opposite direction.
"The shopkeeper we spoke to said a van had mounted the pavement and driven into a crowd and at least five or six people, he thought, were very seriously injured.
Marc Esparcia, a 20-year-old student who lives in Barcelona, told the BBC: "There was a loud noise and everybody ran for cover.
"There were a lot people, lots of families [at the site], this is one of the most visited sites in Barcelona.
"I think several people were hit. It was horrible, there was panic. Terrible."
Ethan Spibey, who works for charity Freedom to Donate, told Sky: "I was just walking towards Las Ramblas with my boyfriend and there seemed to be some police there already.
"All of a sudden there was just real kind of chaos. People just started running and screaming.
"There was loud bangs and people just started running into shops.
"There was a mini stampede where we were down one of the alleyways.
"So we've just now been locked into a church.
"They've locked the doors because I'm not sure whether the person who's done it has been taught, so they've locked the doors and told people to wait in here.
"There's probably about four or five dozen people locked in this church just waiting."
One of the suspected attackers involved in mowing down people in Barcelona on Thursday has been killed in a shootout with police on the outskirts of the city, La Vanguardia newspaper reported.
Police earlier confirmed they had arrested a man in connection with the attack.
It was not immediately clear how many attackers were involved in the incident,
People have been told to avoid the area as emergency services react to a "serious incident" in the Spanish city.
Metro lines have been shut and shoppers and pedestrians have been seen running into buildings as armed police flooded the area.
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Barcelona is a popular summer destinations for British tourists.
It is the latest European city to experience a terror attack using vehicle as a weapon to target a popular tourist destination, after similar attacks in France and Britain.
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