MADRID, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- At least 13 people were reported dead and dozens others injured following a terrorist attack in the city of Barcelona on Thursday afternoon, according to local radio.
The attack happened at around 17:00 hours local time when a man, described as slim and aged in his mid-20's drove a white van at high speed for several hundred meters onto the famous Las Ramblas, attempting to hit as many people as possible.
At the time of the attack, which seems to be a copy of other terrorist attacks using vehicles in cities such as London and Nice, the area was packed with people, many of them tourists.
Witnesses describe how the van was traveling at around 80 kilometers an hour with the aim of "causing as much damage as possible", before fleeing the scene.
The man, who is thought to be armed then holed up in a nearby Turkish restaurant close to the famous La Boqueria market, although it is not known whether or not he has taken any hostages.
Latest reports are that authorities believe the attack was not the work of a "lone wolf" and that it was organized by at least three people. An operation is now under way and the anti-terrorism protocol has been activated.
The Catalan police force (Mossos d'Esquadra) initially reported the incident in a tweet that the incident had "caused several injuries", while they and Spanish National Police asked people to avoid the zone in order to "not obstruct the work of emergency services", and also for them not to post photos or videos of the incident and the aftermath online.
A huge area including Las Ramblas and the nearby Plaza Catalonia and up to the Gran Via have been cordoned off, while large numbers of police and emergency services are now in the area.
The Catalan regional government, Generalitat, closed nearby metro and railway stations, while people in the area of the attack were asked to stay where they are until the police can indicate an exit route.
Meanwhile Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he was in "contact with all the administrations". And the priority "is to help the injured and facilitate the work of the security forces".
Over 230 suspected jihadist terrorists have been arrested in Spain since the start of 2015.
Barcelona is a major tourist destination with over 32 million people, many of them day trippers calculated to have visited the city in 2016.
