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Simultaneous terror attacks gloom Spain

Posted August. 19, 2017 07:13,   

Updated August. 19, 2017 07:50

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Three simultaneous terrorist attacks in Barcelona and nearby Spanish cities on Thursday (local time) have caused 14 deaths and injured more than 100 victims. Right after the incident, The Islamic State, a radical Islamic group, claimed its responsibility via the group's official news agency AMAQ. The vehicle attack started in Nice, France in July last year is spreading to Spain and southern Europe after hitting England, France and Germany in western Europe and Sweden in northern Europe.

A white Fiat van rushed into pedestrians in the busy Catalonia Square and La Ramblas district in Barcelona around 5 p.m. and drove 500 meters. The witnesses say the driver zig-zagged the road packed with many people to hit more. The incident has killed at least 13 people and injured about 100 people, of which 15 are in critical conditions. The driver abandoned the car and ran away, and the police are in a search for the suspect.

Around 1 a.m. on Friday, another car terror attack occurred in Cambrils, a city 120 kilometers southwest of Barcelona. An Audi A3 vehicle slammed into one policeman and six pedestrians. The police killed five suspects on site and arrested one suspect. Some of them were carrying a suicide bomb. On the night before the incident in Cambrils, a gas explosion in Alcanar, a city 200 kilometers southwest of Barcelona, killed one and injured 16. 


The police say these three incidents are a part of integrated terrorist attacks. The purpose of simultaneous attacks is to maximize the fear, according to analysts. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy returned earlier from his vacation and said that the Barcelona attack was the result of jihadist terrorism.



Jung-Min Dong ditto@donga.com