terrorist attack

Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont and the Kings of Spain, among the attendees

Candles, flowers and messages of support turn the street hit by Thursday’s terrorist attack into a symbol of Barcelona’s resistance

Terrorist cell responsible for killing 14 people in Barcelona and Cambrils attacks has not yet been dismantled, Catalan police warns

Authorities have formally identified victims from Portugal, Italy and Argentina and there are injured from 22 nationalities in hospitals

Victims’ countries include Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, Australia, Russia, Colombia, Pakistan, the USA and Egypt, among others

"We are not afraid!" chant thousands of people after remembrance event

Death toll increases to 14 after one person confirmed dead in a second terrorist incident in Southern Catalonia

Investigators suspect the Islamists' plans changed after their gas bottles accidentally exploded in the southern town of Alcanar

Police confirm an anti-terrorist police operation is underway in this coastal town in Southern Catalonia and advice people to stay inside

Authorities confirm that neither of the two arrested suspects was the driver of the van

The terrorist attack which killed 84 people on Thursday night in the French coastal city of Nice, while thousands were celebrating Bastille Day on the streets, has been responded to with international condolences. “Today we want to add Catalonia’s voice to those raised in many democratic countries, which respect freedom and religious and cultural diversity”, stated Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont and referred to Nice’s citizens as “neighbours and brothers”. “France’s mourning is also Catalonia’s”, he added and warned that the terrorists “won’t break [our] cohesion nor dispel the fraternity” towards the victims. Puigdemont’s statement came ahead of the one minute’s silence held on Barcelona’s Plaça Sant Jaume, the square between the Catalan Government’s headquarters and Barcelona’s City Hall.

The highest-ranked officer of the Catalan Government's Police Force Mossos d'Esquadra, Chief Josep Lluís Trapero, has accused the Spanish Police Force of not sharing important information that affects Catalonia's security. Despite the Mossos d'Esquadra force being in charge of the main police tasks for Catalonia, it does not have access to relevant intelligence that the Spanish Police receives from international organisations and foreign police corps. Trapero emphasised that the Catalan Police has international level powers since 2006 and therefore is legally entitled to receive such information. However, the Spanish Police always keeps it for itself, which "makes our work more difficult", complained Trapero, and thus diminishes Catalonia's overall security.

The Catalan Police Force, Mossos d'Esquadra, detained on Wednesday in several cities across Greater Barcelona 11 people who were allegedly forming an Islamic terrorist cell. The cell was "operational" and "wanted to attack in Catalonia", according to the Catalan Minister for Home Affairs, Ramon Espadaler. The alleged terrorists were "clearly connected to the Islamic State" and "supported its ideology", emphasised Espadaler. The cell "had 3 objectives": "recruiting young people and radicalising them", "sending some of these young people to Syria and Iraq", and preparing an attack in Catalonia. Despite this information, Espadaler highlighted that "at no time has this cell generated any kind of danger, as it has been under investigation and police surveillance for the last 13 months".

The terrorist attack in Tunis' Bardo National Museum that took place on Wednesday killed 23 people, 20 tourists and 3 locals, and injured more than 40. Among the fatalities there was an elderly couple from Barcelona, who were celebrating their 50^th wedding anniversary. Antoni Cirera, aged 75, and Dolors Sánchez, aged 73, were given a cruise trip by their children to celebrate the special occasion. Their family is already on their way to the North African country. Neighbours preferred not to talk to the press out of respect for the family. The Catalan Government and Barcelona City Council have expressed "a fervent repulsion" to the attack and have paid tribute to the victims in Sant Jaume Square on Thursday. In addition, the Spanish PM, Mariano Rajoy, expressed his sorrow "for the Cirera-Sánchez family" and announced that members of the Spanish Police specialised in counter-terrorism have travelled to Tunisia.