Screengrab taken with permission from video posted on twitter by @pawilerma of the scene in Las Ramblas, Barcelona after several people have been injured after a van crashed on a pavement in a popular tourist area of the Spanish city. Pawi Lerma/PA Wire

Mossos d'Esquadra officers (Catalan Regional Police) stand guard in front of Civil Guard headquarters during a protest in Barcelona, Spain July 31, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea/File Photo

Police officers tell members of the public to leave the scene in a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Armed police officers patrol an empty street, after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue in central Barcelona, Spain August 17, 2017, in this still image from a video obtained from social media. Courtesy of INSTAGRAM / @pavel_lisovtsov/via REUTERS

A police officer cordon off a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city's historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Armed police officers patrol an empty street, after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue in central Barcelona, Spain August 17, 2017, in this still image from a video obtained from social media. Courtesy of INSTAGRAM / @pavel_lisovtsov/via REUTERS

Police officers tell members of the public to leave the scene in a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city's historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Handout photo taken with permission from the Twitter feed of @Vil_Music of the scene in Las Ramblas, Barcelona after several people have been injured after a van crashed on a pavement in a popular tourist area of the Spanish city. Vil_Music/PA Wire

People run away after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue in central Barcelona, Spain August 17, 2017, in this still image from a video obtained from social media. Courtesy of INSTAGRAM / @pavel_lisovtsov/via REUTERS

A still image from video shows a police cordon on a street in Barcelona, Spain following a van crash August 17, 2017. REUTERS TV via REUTERS

People run away after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue in central Barcelona, Spain August 17, 2017, in this still image from a video obtained from social media. Courtesy of INSTAGRAM / @c.artisan/via REUTERS

A still image from video shows a police officer ushering people away on a street, after a van crashed into people in the centre of Barcelona, Spain, August 17, 2017. REUTERS TV via REUTERS

People move from the scene after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue in central Barcelona, Spain August 17, 2017, in this still image from a video obtained from social media. Courtesy of McKenzie Tavoda/via REUTERS

People flee the scene in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017 after a white van jumped the sidewalk in the historic Las Ramblas district, crashing into a summer crowd of residents and tourists and injuring several people, police said. (AP Photo/Oriol Duran)

A still image from video shows a police officer gesturing while walking across a road, after a van crashed into people in the centre of Barcelona, Spain, August 17, 2017. REUTERS TV via REUTERS

An injured person is carried in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017 after a white van jumped the sidewalk in the historic Las Ramblas district, crashing into a summer crowd of residents and tourists and injuring several people, police said. (AP Photo/Oriol Duran)

An injured person is carried in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017, after a white van jumped the sidewalk in the historic Las Ramblas district, crashing into a summer crowd of residents and tourists and injuring several people, police said. (AP Photo/Oriol Duran)

Injured people are treated in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017 after a white van jumped the sidewalk in the historic Las Ramblas district, crashing into a summer crowd of residents and tourists and injuring several people, police said. (AP Photo/Oriol Duran)

Injured people are treated in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017 after a white van jumped the sidewalk in the historic Las Ramblas district, crashing into a summer crowd of residents and tourists and injuring several people, police said. (AP Photo/Oriol Duran)

Police and emergency services attend to injured persons at the scene after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue in central Barcelona, Spain August 17, 2017, in this still image from a video obtained from social media. Courtesy of @Vil_Music/via REUTERS

Screengrab taken with permission from video posted on twitter by @pawilerma of the scene in Las Ramblas, Barcelona after several people have been injured after a van crashed on a pavement in a popular tourist area of the Spanish city. Pawi Lerma/PA Wire

Tourists wait for the police to allow them to come back to their hotel on the Rambla boulevard after a van ploughed into the crowd, killing at least 13 people and injuring around 100 others is towed away from the Rambla in Barcelona. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Policemen check the area after towing away the van which ploughed into the crowd, killing at least 13 people and injuring around 100 others on the Rambla in Barcelona. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

The van who ploughed into the crowd, killing at least 13 people and injuring around 100 others is towed away from the Rambla in Barcelona. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

The van who ploughed into the crowd, killing at least 13 people and injuring around 100 others is seen momnets before being towed away from the Rambla in Barcelona. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

The van that ploughed into the crowd, killing at least 13 people and injuring around 100 others is towed away from the Rambla in Barcelona. Photo:AFP/Getty Images

The van that ploughed into the crowd, killing at least 13 people and injuring around 100 others is towed away from the Rambla in Barcelona. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Forensic policemen arrive in the cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, killing 13 persons and injuring over 80 on the Rambla in Barcelona. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Four suspected attackers have been shot dead and another injured by Spanish police in a second attack to hit Catalonia.

Seven people were reportedly injured in the coastal town of Cambrils when a group, said to be wearing "explosive belts", launched a van attack similar to that which left 13 people dead and over 100 injured in Barcelona.

Catalan emergency services said six civilians and a police officer had been injured in the attack, which police said was linked to Thursday's Barcelona van attack.

Police urged locals to take cover as they swooped on an area close to Cambrils' beach-front promenade in the early hours of Friday morning.

Expand Close Moroccan Driss Oukabir, whose ID card may may have been taken by his brother Credit: AFP / Facebook

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Whatsapp Moroccan Driss Oukabir, whose ID card may may have been taken by his brother Credit: AFP

Bystanders could be seen running for cover and several gunshots were heard in footage posted on social media, with a later clip showing several dead bodies lying on the floor.

Earlier, police released a photo of a terror suspect, after a white van ploughed through a crowd in Barcelona's city centre killing at least 13 and leaving at least 100 people injured.

One of the suspected attackers involved in mowing down people in La Rambla, Barcelona on Thursday has been killed in a shootout with police on the outskirts of the city, La Vanguardia newspaper reported.

Two men were arrested after the van attack in Barcelona and police say they were connected to the incident but neither was the driver of the vehicle.

Expand Close A police officer cordon off a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city's historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) AP / Facebook

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Whatsapp A police officer cordon off a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city's historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Police confirmed that another man who ran over two officers at a checkpoint in Barcelona was shot dead, but added that it did not appear that the incident was linked to the van attack.

The driver of the van which mowed people down on the busy Las Ramblas avenue left the vehicle on foot and did not appear to be armed, a Catalan police official told a news conference.

They said that one of the two men arrested was Moroccan and the other was from the Spanish enclave of Melilla in North Africa. They were arrested in two different towns in the region of Catalonia, Ripoll and Alcanar.

One of the arrested men was named as Driss Oukabir. He is suspected of renting the van, but later denied involvement and reportedly said his documents had been stolen.

Islamic State have now claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the group's Amaq news agency.

Explosion

Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that an explosion on Wednesday night in Alcanar, 120 miles south of Barcelona, is now believed to be connected to Thursday's attack.

At the time police thought it was a gas explosion. The house was destroyed, with six people injured and one dead.

Inside the house, which police believe was occupied for a few months, they found around 20 canisters of butane and propane gas.

A woman was found dead inside and a man, discovered among the rubble, was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

The explosion could be heard for several miles.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Forensic policemen arrive in the cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, killing 13 persons and injuring over 80 on the Rambla in Barcelona. Photo: AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images The van that ploughed into the crowd, killing at least 13 people and injuring around 100 others is towed away from the Rambla in Barcelona. Photo: AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images The van that ploughed into the crowd, killing at least 13 people and injuring around 100 others is towed away from the Rambla in Barcelona. Photo:AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images The van who ploughed into the crowd, killing at least 13 people and injuring around 100 others is seen momnets before being towed away from the Rambla in Barcelona. Photo: AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images The van who ploughed into the crowd, killing at least 13 people and injuring around 100 others is towed away from the Rambla in Barcelona. Photo: AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Policemen check the area after towing away the van which ploughed into the crowd, killing at least 13 people and injuring around 100 others on the Rambla in Barcelona. Photo: AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Tourists wait for the police to allow them to come back to their hotel on the Rambla boulevard after a van ploughed into the crowd, killing at least 13 people and injuring around 100 others is towed away from the Rambla in Barcelona. Photo: AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Screengrab taken with permission from video posted on twitter by @pawilerma of the scene in Las Ramblas, Barcelona after several people have been injured after a van crashed on a pavement in a popular tourist area of the Spanish city. Pawi Lerma/PA Wire PA Police and emergency services attend to injured persons at the scene after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue in central Barcelona, Spain August 17, 2017, in this still image from a video obtained from social media. Courtesy of @Vil_Music/via REUTERS REUTERS Injured people are treated in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017 after a white van jumped the sidewalk in the historic Las Ramblas district, crashing into a summer crowd of residents and tourists and injuring several people, police said. (AP Photo/Oriol Duran) AP Injured people are treated in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017 after a white van jumped the sidewalk in the historic Las Ramblas district, crashing into a summer crowd of residents and tourists and injuring several people, police said. (AP Photo/Oriol Duran) AP An injured person is carried in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017, after a white van jumped the sidewalk in the historic Las Ramblas district, crashing into a summer crowd of residents and tourists and injuring several people, police said. (AP Photo/Oriol Duran) AP An injured person is carried in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017 after a white van jumped the sidewalk in the historic Las Ramblas district, crashing into a summer crowd of residents and tourists and injuring several people, police said. (AP Photo/Oriol Duran) AP A still image from video shows a police officer gesturing while walking across a road, after a van crashed into people in the centre of Barcelona, Spain, August 17, 2017. REUTERS TV via REUTERS REUTERS People flee the scene in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017 after a white van jumped the sidewalk in the historic Las Ramblas district, crashing into a summer crowd of residents and tourists and injuring several people, police said. (AP Photo/Oriol Duran) AP People move from the scene after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue in central Barcelona, Spain August 17, 2017, in this still image from a video obtained from social media. Courtesy of McKenzie Tavoda/via REUTERS REUTERS A still image from video shows a police officer ushering people away on a street, after a van crashed into people in the centre of Barcelona, Spain, August 17, 2017. REUTERS TV via REUTERS REUTERS People run away after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue in central Barcelona, Spain August 17, 2017, in this still image from a video obtained from social media. Courtesy of INSTAGRAM / @c.artisan/via REUTERS REUTERS A still image from video shows a police cordon on a street in Barcelona, Spain following a van crash August 17, 2017. REUTERS TV via REUTERS REUTERS People run away after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue in central Barcelona, Spain August 17, 2017, in this still image from a video obtained from social media. Courtesy of INSTAGRAM / @pavel_lisovtsov/via REUTERS REUTERS Handout photo taken with permission from the Twitter feed of @Vil_Music of the scene in Las Ramblas, Barcelona after several people have been injured after a van crashed on a pavement in a popular tourist area of the Spanish city. Vil_Music/PA Wire PA Police officers tell members of the public to leave the scene in a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city's historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) AP Armed police officers patrol an empty street, after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue in central Barcelona, Spain August 17, 2017, in this still image from a video obtained from social media. Courtesy of INSTAGRAM / @pavel_lisovtsov/via REUTERS REUTERS A police officer cordon off a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city's historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) AP Armed police officers patrol an empty street, after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue in central Barcelona, Spain August 17, 2017, in this still image from a video obtained from social media. Courtesy of INSTAGRAM / @pavel_lisovtsov/via REUTERS REUTERS Police officers tell members of the public to leave the scene in a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) AP Mossos d'Esquadra officers (Catalan Regional Police) stand guard in front of Civil Guard headquarters during a protest in Barcelona, Spain July 31, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea/File Photo REUTERS People walk by Las Ramblas in Barcelona, Spain August 16, 2015. REUTERS/Albert Gea/File Photo REUTERS Screengrab taken with permission from video posted on twitter by @pawilerma of the scene in Las Ramblas, Barcelona after several people have been injured after a van crashed on a pavement in a popular tourist area of the Spanish city. Pawi Lerma/PA Wire PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Forensic policemen arrive in the cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, killing 13 persons and injuring over 80 on the Rambla in Barcelona. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Attack

Moments after the van crash at Las Ramblas, it was reported that two armed men entered a restaurant in Barcelona.

However Spanish police have confirmed, in reaction to these reports, that there was nobody held up in a bar.

Catalan emergency services said people should not go to the area around Placa Catalunya.

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It's believed the driver of the vehicle had fled on foot after mowing down dozens of people.

He was arrested several hours later following a massive police hunt in the centre of the city.

Catalan police say they cannot confirm a motive for the attack.

A second van believed to be connected to the attack has been found by police in the small town of Vic in Catalonia, local authorities said on Twitter. Vic is approximately 70km from the city of Barcelona.

Police had cordoned off the area and were inspecting the vehicle, the city council said.

Police are also asking people to let their families know if they are 'okay' if they are in the designated 'red zone'. They have asked people to use social media networks so as not to block the phone lines.

Witness

A witness told Independent.ie; "A load of people screaming just ran into the museum I'm just after walking into and they've shut the whole place down."

Another witness described how people "have taken shelter in shops".

The man, writing on Twitter, said people are being treated by medical personnel at the scene.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he was in contact with authorities after a van mowed down dozens of people in Barcelona's city centre.

Rajoy said on Twitter the priority was to attend to the injured.

An Irish man living in Barcelona said he is shaken following the attack.

Aidan McGovern originally from Carrigaline, Co Cork owns a gallery in the Spanish city centre. He told Independent.ie that the attack has left him shaken.

"I'm pretty shook up and taken aback. I'm close to the area. It's very scary.

"A buddy of mine saw the van plough through the crowd and get out of the van running. It's pretty grim here right now."

Student Marc Esparcia (20) told the BBC: "There was a loud noise and everybody ran for cover. There were a lot people, lots of families [at the site], this is one of the most visited sites in Barcelona.

"I think several people were hit. It was horrible, there was panic. Terrible."

Witness Ethan Spibey told Britain's Sky News: "All of sudden it was real chaos. People just started running screaming, there were loud bangs. People just started running into shops, there was a kind of mini-stampede where we were, down one of the alleyways."

He said he had taken refuge with dozens of other people in a nearby church.

"They've locked the doors because I'm not sure whether the person who may have done it has actually been caught, so they've locked the doors and told people just to wait in here."

He said he was now taking cover inside a Starbucks coffee shop.

Advice

The Department of Foreign Affairs said they are monitoring developments closely through the Irish Embassy in Madrid and Ireland’s Honorary Consul in Barcelona.

Irish citizens in the vicinity of the incident are advised to follow the advice of local authorities. Anyone with concerns for the safety of loved ones in Barcelona can contact the Consular Assistance team in the Department on 01-4082000 or the Irish Embassy in Madrid on +34 914364093.

Minister Simon Coveney said he was "appalled" by the events.

"I am appalled by the incident in Barcelona this afternoon. On behalf of the Irish government, I wish to convey our condolences and solidarity with the people of Spain at this time."

In the US, White House's chief of staff said it was keeping President Trump closely informed about the situation.

Meanwhile, people in Barcelona have begun to open up their homes to those affected by the incident.

One man wrote on Twitter; "Anyone in #Barcelona stuck in the centre you welcome at my apartment behind Plaça Jaume. Cups of tea offered! #lasramblas #larambla"

People in Barcelona are also making use of Facebook to mark themselves as safe as well as offer aid to those in need.

One woman marked herself as available for “volunteer work”.

She added a Facebook status, reading; "I speak English and I can help if you are around Born area."

Dozens of other posts can be seen offering help, including people offering places to stay, food and water, baby supplies and blood donations.

Another woman marked herself as "offering help" at a location metres away from the terrorist attack.

Her status reads; "Hi everyone in Barcelona. If you don't speak Spanish and need any help, I’m here for you! Be careful, be safe, and stay home!!"

Additional reporting by Reuters

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