Barcelona: Islamic State attack leaves 12 dead and dozens injured

Police have arrested at least two suspects after a van was used to kill at least 13 people in a terrorist attack in Barcelona city centre.

A white van mounted the pavement of Las Ramblas, the main tourist area in the city, and struck dozens of people, police said.

Islamic State has said it was responsible for the attack, according to the AMAQ newsagency.

Catalan authorities have confirmed that at least 13 people have died and at least 80 have received hospital treatment.

One social media video post showed bodies strewn across the pavement for several hundred metres along the famous street.

AFP reported that a Belgian was among the dead.

A statement put out by the AMAQ news agency said: "The perpetrators of the Barcelona attack are soldiers of the Islamic State and carried out the operation in response to calls for targeting coalition states."

One TV station said two armed men entered a Turkish restaurant and took hostages, but the interior ministry denied this.

Police initially said they were looking for a man of 5ft 5ins (1.7m) in height, wearing a white shirt with blue stripes.

The van used in atrocity is said to be a Fiat, that was hired from an address in Santa Perpetua Of the Mogoda, about five miles north of the city.

Police have identified a suspect who they say rented a van, naming him as Driss Oukabir.

A Facebook account says he is from Marseilles and lives in Ripoll, Catalonia, about 50 miles north of Barcelona.

La Vanguadia has reported that the man handed himself in to the police station at Ripoll after he saw his photo in the media, claiming his documentation had been stolen and that he was in Ripoll at the time of the attack.

Catalonia's interior ministry said two people have been arrested, but the investigation is ongoing.

Catalan media say they made a second arrest in Manlleu, just north of Vic and about 13 miles south of Ripoll.

Catalan police have confirmed a driver ran into two police officers at a checkpoint in Sant Just Desvern, about five miles west of Las Ramblas, at 7.24pm local time, but it is not known if it is linked to the attack.

Media reports said a white Ford Focus ran over the officers and then was intercepted by police nearly two miles (3km) away.

Catalonia's police force said troopers shot and killed a man who was in the car that hit two officers.

The bomb squad are now checking an area in the Barcelona outskirts near where the driver of a car that struck two police officers was found.

Numerous people were trapped in shops after being told to hide but have since been evacuated.

Metro and train stations have been closed and a large area has been cordoned off.

A White House spokesman said Donald Trump's chief of staff is "keeping abreast of the situation" and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the US stands ready to act.