The Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for an attack in which a van ran over pedestrians here in Las Ramblas boulevard. At least 13 persons were killed and more than 100 injured.
Confirming the death toll, Head of Catalonia's Regional Interior Department Joaquim Forn said in a tweet on Thursday: "My strongest condemnation of the terrorist attack in Barcelona. We can confirm 13 deaths."
He added that 15 of the injured were in serious condition and that the death toll was likely to rise, Efe news reported.
Claiming the attack, jihadi-affiliated news agency Amaq said the attackers were "soldiers of Islamic State".
The Mossos d'Esquadra regional police force said two persons have been detained in connection with the attack, though neither of them was the driver of the van.
A third person was found dead in his car 3 km from a police checkpoint where he exchanged shots with officers.
One of the arrested is Driss el-Ouakbir, a man of northwestern African origin who is believed to have rented the van used in the attack.
He told police his identity papers have been stolen. Spanish media reported that his 18-year-old brother could have stolen the papers and could also be involved in the attack, Xinhua news agency reported.
Ouakabir, a legal permanent resident of Spain, spent a month in pre-trial detention in 2012 after being accused of sexual assault in the town of Figueres, sources said.
The attack happened at 5.00 p.m. (local time) when the van rammed into several vehicles before barrelling down the tree-lined central pedestrian-only area of Las Ramblas. Regional police and emergency services were deployed to the area, which is at the heart of the city's touristic centre and is visited by thousands every day.
Interior Minister Forn said the Festa Major de Gracia, an iconic Barcelona celebration that began on Tuesday and was slated to end next Monday, would be cancelled.
Metro and train stations in the area were closed to the public, while people in the area of the attack were asked to stay where they are until the police can indicate an exit route.
Mossos d'Esquadra said that the van attack was related to an explosion on Wednesday night in coastal town of Alcanar, where a man was killed when gas-bombs he was handling detonated inside an abandoned house.
The aim of Thursday's assault was "to kill the maximum number of people", Mossos said on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced a three days of national mourning saying "terrorists are defeated by unity".
LS poll battle: Only 9.83 pc candidates are women in NE states
Like previous Parliamentary elections, there are very few women candidates contesting in the 18th Lok Sabha elections in the six northeastern states, where filing of nominations were completed.
Tripura to go for 1st phase LS Poll on April 19; poll materials dispersed from Agartala amid tight security cover
More than 10,000 polling personnel, accompanied by police personnel, have begun transporting EVMs and other polling materials from Agartala Umakanta Academy to their assigned polling stations.
Multi-cornered contest in 15 NE seats going to polls in 1st phase on Friday
A multi-cornered contest will be witnessed in 15 Lok Sabha seats in the eight northeastern states as the first phase of the 7-phase parliamentary elections is held on Friday.
CM Arvind Kejriwal eating mangoes, sweets to raise blood sugar level: ED tells Delhi court
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said in a Delhi court that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was deliberately eating mangoes and other high-carb food to raise his blood sugar level to build a case for bail.
In Kerala rally, Rajnath Singh takes dig at Cong’s ‘Rahulyaan’, hurls ‘migration’ charge
Union Minister Rajnath Singh, while campaigning for BJP in Kerala’s Kottayam district on Thursday, took a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and said that ‘Rahulyaan’ is neither getting launched nor finding a suitable landing.
From Bihar to Punjab, how labourers turned into sharpshooters for Lawrence Bishnoi syndicate
Instead of solely targeting aspiring talents, the Bishnoi gang has now begun luring unsuspecting labourers with the promise of lucrative payouts.
PM Modi took decisive steps to bring peace in Northeast: BJP chief Nadda
BJP President J. P. Nadda has asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi took decisive steps to bring peace in the Bodoland area of Assam by signing the Bodo peace accord.
Bitcoin scam case: ED attaches assets worth over Rs 97 cr of Raj Kundra, Shilpa Shetty
The attached properties include a residential flat in Juhu, which is in the name of Shilpa Shetty, another residential bungalow in Pune and equity shares in Raj Kundra's name.