Spanish police have shot dead the man suspected of driving the van in the Barcelona terror attack which killed 13 people and injured more than 130.
Younes Abouyaaqoub, who was identified as the man who drove the van down the boulevarde of Las Ramblas last Thursday, was gunned down outside the town of was gunned down by police outside the town of Subirats.
Abouyaaqoub was cornered by police wearing what appeared to be a suicide vest. After he was shot, police deployed a robot to remove the device, which was revealed to be a fake.
Here’s footage of police after the encounter, via The Guardian:
Five other members of an alleged terrorist cell involved in the planning of the attack – including Abouyaaqoub’s brother Houssaine – were killed by police in the coastal town of Cambrils on Friday.
Abouyaaqoub fled Barcelona after the van attack, and is believed to have killed a 14th person in order to secure a vehicle for his escape. Police had set up over 800 vehicle checkpoints in an an attempt to capture Abouyaaqoub and prevent him from crossing the border into France.
According to Spanish police, attention now turns to Abdelbaki Es Satty, a convicted drug smuggler who had been an imam in Ripoli for the past two years. He is confirmed to have died in an explosion at the alleged cell’s bomb factory.
We’ll keep you updated.
