Barcelona terror: Suspects killed after van attack leaves 13 dead

Spanish police say they thwarted a second terrorist attack when they opened fire on a car that had been driven into pedestrians in the seaside town of Cambrils early this morning.

"The five attackers in the Audi A3, who were wearing bomb belts, were shot dead," the Daily Telegraph reports. The suspects "apparently knocked down several people before coming across a police patrol and a shoot-out ensued".

Hours earlier, 13 people died and more than 100 were injured in Barcelona, 70 miles away, when a vehicle hit pedestrians on Las Ramblas. Witnesses report a white van speeding along the pavement, mowing down crowds while people fled for cover in shops and cafes.

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"Two people have been arrested in connection with the incident, one born in Morocco and one born in the Spanish enclave of Melilla, north Africa," the BBC reports.

Spanish media say police are looking for 18-year-old Moussa Oukabir, suspected of using his brother's documents to rent the van. It is not clear if Oukabir was behind the wheel during the attack, the BBC says.

Citizens of 34 countries have been killed or injured, including a "small number" of British nationals, the Foreign Office says. The UK is "urgently" investigating reports of a child with British nationality who went missing in the Barcelona attack, the BBC reports.

It was not immediately clear if seven-year-old Australian Julian Cadman, who was separated from his mother on Las Ramblas on Thursday, is the same child or whether he holds dual citizenship. His grandfather in Sydney, who is originally from Dorset, has posted an appeal for the missing boy on Facebook.

Six people, including one police officer, were injured during the incident in Cambrils. One is in a critical condition.

"This now looks like a coordinated attempt to carry out attacks in several parts of Catalonia, with tourists as a target," The Guardian says.

Spanish officials believe the attacks may be linked to an explosion in Alcanar, which destroyed a house and killed at least one person and injured 16 more. Police believe explosives were being prepared in the home.