Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Isis claims Barcelona attack that killed at least a dozen people in city centre

'Islamic State soldiers' carried out the attack, a message said. 

Will Worley
Thursday 17 August 2017 21:31 BST
Comments
(Reuters)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Isis have claimed responsibility for the vehicle ramming attack in Las Ramblas, Barcelona.

At least 13 people were killed and 100 more were hurt when a van ploughed into pedestrians in a busy tourist district.

Isis have claimed responsibility for a number of other terrorist attacks in Europe, including vehicular attacks.

The extremist group's claim was made on their news agency Amaq.

A message said: "The perpetrators of the attack in Barcelona are Islamic State soldiers and carried out the operation on command of Khilafah of targeting coalition countries".

The "coalition" refers to the US-led force fighting Isis in Iraq and Syria.

Isis often quickly claim responsibility for terrorist attacks in Europe and elsewhere, even if they have been carried out by so-called 'lone wolves'.

But Rita Katz, director of the SITE intelligence group, said the Amq claim was "preceded by celebration from ISIS community, possibly indicating group's knowledge of plan".

The group has been suffering severe losses on the battlefield recently, losing Mosul, its major urban stronghold in Iraq, in July.

Experts fear this could prompt Isis to adapt more guerilla warfare-type tactics in Western cities.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in