Barcelona attack: Fourth terror suspect arrested after deadly Las Ramblas and Cambrils rampages
Authorities say death toll may rise due to severity of injuries
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Your support makes all the difference.Four people have now been arrested in connection with the terror attacks in Catalunya, police have said.
The Mossos d'Esquadra regional police said early on Friday afternoon they had arrested a fourth suspect over the vehicle rampages in Barcelona and Cambrils, which are being linked and have killed a total of 14.
A third had been detained in the town of Ripoll earlier in the day. Two people have been arrested there and another in Alcanar. It was not immediately clear where the fourth arrest had taken place,.
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It comes after the arrest of Driss Oukabir, a resident of Ripoll which lies about 60 miles north of Barcelona, in connection with the first attack in Barcelona's busy La Rambla promenade.
Mr Oukabir, 28, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, presented voluntarily to police in Ripoll and claimed his younger brother Moussa, 18, had stolen his identity documents.
Focus has intensified on the younger man, who remains at large.
Some 100 people were injured in Thursday afternoon's attack, including more than a dozen with serious wounds. Authorities say the death toll may rise due to the severity of some people's injuries.
Isis claimed responsibility for the massacre, which followed the pattern of numerous others in recent months that used vehicles to target pedestrians. The van driver fled after mowing down his victims, and witnesses said he did not appear to be armed.
"All of a sudden there was an immediate stampede and police shouting at people to run," one told The Independent.
La Rambla is a wide, tree-lined boulevard and is home to dozens of shops, restaurants and bars. It is popular with tourists and would have been packed in the early evening.
The central part of the street is a tiled pedestrian promenade through which the terrorist's van was driven.
Ethan Spibey, 25, told The Independent: "People were running into shops and taking refuge in cafes. There was a lot of screaming.
"People just turned and sprinted in the opposite direction as the police were screaming at people to run away. They were telling people to get away as soon as possible. It was very scary."
People from 34 countries were among the dead and injured.
In a second incident in the town of Cambrils during the early hours of Friday, police shot dead five people to end another attack using the same method as the first.
A gang wearing suicide belts rammed civilians with a car before being brought down, leaving seven people, including a police officer, injured. A woman later died, bringing the overall death toll to 14, health authorities said on Friday.
The suicide belts were later revealed to have been fake, in an echo of the London Bridge attack earlier this year.
Police are linking the two incidents, as well as a house explosion in Alcanar on Wednesday that left one person dead.
A cell of up to 12 people may have been involved in a plot using gas canisters, authorities announced on Friday morning.
The La Rambla massacre is the deadliest terror attack in Spain since more than 190 people were killed in the 2004 Madrid train bombings.
King Felipe and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy were due to attend a vigil in Plaça Catalunya at 12pm local time.
Barcelona's city leadership was to meet an hour earlier in an extraordinary session, La Vanguardia reported.
Catalan police, the Mossos d'Esquadra, have warned people walking in the area of Plaça Catalunya not to wear backpacks or carry large bags.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "Our thoughts are with the victims of these terrible attacks and the people of Spain.
"We are currently assisting a small number of British people affected and are working to find out if any more need our help.
"We have deployed additional staff to Barcelona and have offered support to the Spanish authorities."
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