There are indications that the imam of the Spanish city of Ripoll, the suspected mastermind of the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, died in an explosion in Alcanar just a day before, local media reported Monday.
On Saturday, the country’s authorities raided the house of es-Sati in Ripoll.
On Thursday, a van hit pedestrians in the center of Barcelona, killing over a dozen and injuring over 130 others. Hours after the incident, another vehicle attack took place in Catalonia’s southern town of Cambrils. In the attack, a police officer and six civilians were injured and at least one of them died later. The responsibility for the van attack in Barcelona was reportedly claimed by Daesh terror group (outlawed in numerous countries).
The terrorist cell, which included 12 people, prepared explosives in a house in Alcanar town 120 miles south of Barcelona, using gas canisters and explosive material known as the “Mother of Satan,” El Confidencial online media outlet reported on Saturday. But the gas cylinders accidentally detonated, destroying the house and killing two people the night before the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, which made the perpetrators change their plan for the attack. The media outlet also pointed out that the terrorists initially saw the Sagrada Familia cathedral as their only target.
Meanwhile, El Espanol online media outlet reported that, apart from the cathedral, terrorists had also planned attacks on Las Ramblas street and in the port area of Barcelona.
(Source: Sputnik)