BARCELONA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Thirteen people were killed and at least 50 others were injured following a terrorist attack in the city of Barcelona on Thursday afternoon, Catalan interior minister Joaquim Forn said.
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 Barcelona's famous Las Ramblas tourist area, attempting to hit as many people as possible.
Witnesses described seeing a white van speeding along the pedestrian area, deliberately targeting people, knocking many to the floor and sending others fleeing for cover in shops and cafes, BBC reported.
Spanish police have described it as a terror attack. Police also confirmed they have arrested a man in connection with the attack.
The man who drove van into crowd was identified by Spanish media as Driss Oukabir. Local media also reported that one of Barcelona terror attackers died in fire exchange with police.
Las Ramblas is popular with tourists because of its market stalls, bars and restaurants.
According to BBC, Spain's national public broadcaster RTVE has also reported that the vehicle used was rented in the city. A second van linked to the attack has been found in the small town of Vic, north of Barcelona, local authorities said.
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.
