Barcelona terror attacks: what we know

Josep Lago | AFP | Getty Images

Armed policemen stand in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017.

A manhunt is underway in Spain as police search for the driver of a van that plowed into pedestrians on Barcelona’s busiest boulevard Thursday, leaving at least 13 people dead and more than 100 injured.

The perpetrator was seen escaping on foot after deliberately driving into crowds of people on Las Ramblas, at around 5:30 p.m. local time, in what police suspect was one of a number of planned attacks.

So far three men have been arrested as country-wide anti-terror operations are underway.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack though the claim has not been verified.

Five men suspected of attempting to carry out a related attack were shot by police early Friday morning in the nearby town of Cambrils. The attackers, who were wearing explosives, were intercepted after driving a car into a crowd of people, injuring six civilians and one police officer. Catalan officials have since suggested that the explosives were fakes.

One person was also killed in an explosion in a property in a separate town southwest of Barcelona. Police sources say the residence was being used for preparing explosive devices.