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Members of the Muslim community in Barcelona have taken to the streets chanting “not in my name” following the devastating terror attack.
At least 14 people were killed in the twin terror attacks, after a van was driven into the crowd on the busy street of Las Ramblas in central Barcelona and a car rammed into people in the seaside town of Cambrils, killing one, later that evening.
Spanish authorities said the terror cell, made up of 12 members, may have been radicalised by a Moroccan imam who had links with the terrorists behind the attacks in Madrid in 2004 and Belgium in 2016.
Belgian media reported that the suspected ringleader of the attack, Moroccan imam Abdelbaki Es Satty, spent at least three months in Vilvoorde – a Brussels suburb noted for its links to radical Islamism .
The suburb’s mayor confirmed Es Satty lived in the city from January to March 2016 – the month that saw Isis ’ attacks launched in nearby Brussels – but the Belgian immigration minister has claimed he was not registered with authorities.
The attack has lead to fears among the mainstream Muslim community that they will face reprisals and an anti-Islam backlash in the city.
Although the presence of the far-right in Spain remains small compared with other European countries, there has been a 500 per cent increase in the number of reported hate crimes against Muslims, according to campaign group the Citizens’ Platform Against Islamophobia.
An editorial in a right-wing newspaper, La Razon, claimed Catalonia was “a nest of radical Salafism” and claimed Qatar businessmen were “funding indoctrination” in the region’s mosques.
Barcelona AttackShow all 30 Police officers patrol on Las Ramblas following yesterday's terrorist attack, on August 18, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured when a van hit crowds in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona on Thursday. Spanish police have also killed five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils to stop a second terrorist attack
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Tourists and locals walk along Las Ramblas following yesterday's terrorist attack, on August 18, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured when a van hit crowds in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona on Thursday. Spanish police have also killed five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils to stop a second terrorist attack.
Getty Images
Police officers patrol on Las Ramblas following yesterday's terrorist attack, on August 18, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured when a van hit crowds in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona on Thursday. Spanish police have also killed five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils to stop a second terrorist attack.
Getty Images
People leave a fastfood with hands up as asked by policemen after a van ploughed into the crowd, killing two persons and injuring several others on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017. A driver deliberately rammed a van into a crowd on Barcelona's most popular street on August 17, 2017 killing at least two people before fleeing to a nearby bar, police said. Officers in Spain's second-largest city said the ramming on Las Ramblas was a "terrorist attack" and a police source said one suspect had left the scene and was "holed up in a bar". The police source said they were hunting for a total of two suspects
AFP/Getty
Police officers tell members of the public to leave the scene in a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city's historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people.
AP
Injured people react after a van crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack.
EPA
People move from the scene after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue
Reuters
A policeman stands next to an ambulance after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona
AFP/Getty Images
Firefighters stands outside an evacuated mall after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona
AFP/Getty Images
Policemen stand next to vehicles in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona
AFP/Getty Images
Plain-clothes policemen phone as they walk past police cars in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona
AFP/Getty Images
A policemen and a medical staff member stand past police cars and an ambulance in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona
AFP/Getty Images
A person is stretched out of a mall by medical staff members in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017. Police in Barcelona said they were dealing with a "terrorist attack" after a vehicle ploughed into a crowd of pedestrians on the city's famous Las Ramblas boulevard on August 17, 2017. Police were clearing the area after the incident, which has left a number of people injured.
AFP/Getty Images
Children, some in tears, are escorted down a road in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in Barcelona say a white van has mounted a sidewalk, struck several people in the city's Las Ramblas district.
AP
Mossos d'Esquadra Police officers and emergency service workers move an injured man, after a van crashes into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack.
EPA
Mossos d'Esquadra Police officers attend injured people after a van crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack.
EPA
Injured people react after a van crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack.
EPA
A police officer cordon off a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city's historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people.
AP
Meanwhile mosques across Spain are reportedly being targeted by racist graffiti.
One mosque in Seville in the south of the country was dabbed with graffiti which threatened to behead Muslims with machetes and said “Killers you’re going to pay”.
In a similar incident, another mosque was attacked by flares in a gang in Granada.
The right-wing group thought to be behind the attacks, Hogar Social, has been accused of carrying out the attacks and were reportedly driven away by police officers, the Daily Mail reported .
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