A Teen Suspect, Fake Suicide Belts, a Change in Plans

A huge manhunt is underway in Spain for the driver of a van that plowed into pedestrians in Barcelona, killing 13 people in a terrorist attack claimed by ISIS. Spanish police have named the suspect as 17-year-old Moussa Oukabir, the Guardian reports. The suspect's brother, 28-year-old Moroccan national Driss Oukabir, was arrested after the attack and reportedly told authorities that his identity documents, which were used to rent the van, were stolen. In other developments:

  • Police say five suspects shot dead after injuring people in a second attack Thursday night were wearing fake explosive belts, CNN reports. The suspects engaged in a shootout with police after driving their Audi A3 into pedestrians in the town of Cambrils, authorities say. Their vehicle overturned during the attack. The suicide belts were so realistic that security forces didn't know they were fake until controlled explosions had been carried out, authorities say.
  • Investigators believe a 12-person terror cell was behind both attacks and an explosion that killed a person at a house in the town of Alcanar, the Telegraph reports. They suspect the terrorists were planning to use gas canisters in another attack.
  • A counterterrorism expert tell the New York Times that authorities believe the attackers initially planned to use a large truck loaded with explosives, but they rented multiple smaller vehicles after they couldn't get a permit for a larger one.
  • Police say the three people arrested so far include a man from Melilla, Spain's North African enclave, reports Reuters.

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