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Spain attacks: Manhunt for driver of Las Ramblas van Younes Abouyaaquoub extended across Europe Spain attacks: Manhunt for driver of Las Ramblas van Younes Abouyaaquoub extended across Europe
(35 minutes later)
The manhunt for the suspected driver in the Las Ramblas terror attack that took place in Barcelona last week has been extended across Europe, Catalan police have said.The manhunt for the suspected driver in the Las Ramblas terror attack that took place in Barcelona last week has been extended across Europe, Catalan police have said.
Police are searching for 22-year-old Moroccan national Younes Abouyaaquoub, who has been on the run since the attack on Thursday that claimed the lives of 13 people and injured more than 100.Police are searching for 22-year-old Moroccan national Younes Abouyaaquoub, who has been on the run since the attack on Thursday that claimed the lives of 13 people and injured more than 100.
After confusion about which member of the now identified 12-member Isis terror cell drove the van in the attack, police confirmed this morning that their working theory is that it was Mr Abouyaaquoub. After confusion about which member of the now identified 12-member Isis terror cell drove the van in the attack, Catalan authorities confirmed this morning that their working theory is that it was Mr Abouyaaquoub.
The rest of the cell thought to have planned the attack are either dead or or in custody; with five shot at a follow-up attack in Cambrils, four in custody, and two having perished in an accidental explosion at their bomb factory on hours before the first attack.The rest of the cell thought to have planned the attack are either dead or or in custody; with five shot at a follow-up attack in Cambrils, four in custody, and two having perished in an accidental explosion at their bomb factory on hours before the first attack.
More follows… Catalan official Joaquim Forn told local radio in the province: "Everything suggests the van driver is Younes Abouyaaqoub".
  CCTV images obtained by the Spanish newspaper El Pais appear to show Mr Abouyaaqoub fleeting the scene of Thursday's attack through Barcelona's famous La Boqueria market, just off Las Ramblas and near the site of the attack.
He replaces 17-year-old Moussa Oukabir, who was named in the hours after the attack, as the suspected driver of the van. Mr Oukabir was one of those shot by police at Cambrils when five men tried to stage a knife attack at the resort after being challenged by police at a checkpoint. The attackers killed one woman and injured more before being shot.
The internationalisation of the manhunt comes after reports in the Belgian press that Abdelbaki Es Satty, one of those killed in the accidental explosion at the cell's suspected bomb factory, had links to Belgium.
The mayor of the Belgian municipality of Vilvoorde, once a notorious jihadi hub, confirmed Es Satty lived in the city from January to March 2016 – the month that saw Isis’ attacks launched in nearby Brussels – but the Belgian immigration minister said he was not registered with authorities.
Hans Bonte said Es Satty attempted to work at mosques in the city but was refused by community members who reported his arrival to the police.
Belgian authorities said they contacted their Catalan counterparts for information but were told he was not known to be radicalised, De Redactie reported.