People are evacuated after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue in central Barcelona, Spain August 17, 2017. Ana Jimenez/La Vanguardia/via REUTERS

CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in which a van plowed into crowds in the Spanish city of Barcelona on Thursday, the group’s Amaq news agency said.

“The perpetrators of the Barcelona attack are soldiers of the Islamic State and carried out the operation in response to calls for targeting coalition states,” the agency said, referring to a United States-led coalition against the Sunni militant group.