Foreign Affairs

BREAKING: Spanish Police Shoot, Detain Suspected Driver In Barcelona Terror Attack

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Spanish police confirmed Monday they have captured the man suspected of being the driver in last week’s terror attack in Barcelona.

Police shot and detained fugitive Younes Abouyaaqoub, 22, along a road in Subirats, a small town about 30 miles west of Barcelona. Abouyaaqoub has been the target of an international manhunt since Thursday’s van attack in Barcelona, which killed 13 people at left at least 100 more injured.

Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalonian regional police force, announced through Twitter that Abouyaaqoub was captured in the Subirats operation:

“We confirm that the person taken down in the Subirats incident is Younes Abouyaaqoub, the perpetrator of the terrorist attack in #Barcelona,” Mossos said.

Confirmem que la persona abatuda a l'incident de #Subirats és Younes Abouyaaqoub, autor de l'atemptat terrorista a #Barcelona

— Mossos (@mossos) August 21, 2017

Spanish authorities named Abouyaaqoub as the suspected driver early Monday morning, saying they had “scientific evidence” that the 22-year-old Moroccan national was behind the wheel, reports the Associated Press. Police say he fled the scene of the attack on foot and later hijacked a car and stabbed its owner to death.

Abouyaaqoub was wearing what appeared to be a suicide explosive belt when he was discovered late Monday afternoon, police sources told Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia.

Authorities were first alerted to Abouyaaqoub’s presence in Subirats when a local resident saw a man who matched his description and called police. Responding officers located and shot him when they observed the explosive belt.

At this time, police have not provided an update to Abouyaaqoub’s condition. An explosives disposal team is currently investigating the explosive belt, reports La Vanguardia.

(This is a developing sotry and will be updated.)

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