What we know about the suspected Barcelona, Cambrils attackers - Action News
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What we know about the suspected Barcelona, Cambrils attackers

Catalan police released the photos and names of four people Friday suspected of being connected to the deadly attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, but a full picture of exactly how they were connected and how many of them were among the attackers killed in a shootout with police in Cambrils was still emerging.

Moussa Oukabir, 17, suspected of driving van that plowed into Barcelona crowd

A suspect is led out of a building by police in Ripoll, north of Barcelona on Friday. Police arrested three people in the small town near the Pyrenees mountains and Spain's border with France in connection with the van attack in Barcelona that killed 13 and wounded dozens and a second attack in Cambrils. (Francisco Seco/Associated Press)

The manwho drove a van into crowds in a busy part of Barcelona, killing 13 people and injuring dozens,may not have beenamong the suspects killed by police after a second vehicle attackin Cambrils, a seaside resort on the Mediterranean.

Catalan police have not confirmed the media reportsbut said it waspossiblethe driver was among the five suspects killed in a shootoutwith police in Cambrils after acar plowedinto pedestrians on the town's boardwalk, killing at least one person and wounding six others, including a police officer.

As of Friday, police had arrested three people in the town of Ripoll and one person in Alcanar, where a gas explosion Wednesday in a house was being investigated in connection with the Thursday's attacks.

They also released the photos and names of four suspects:Moussa Oukabir, 17, Mohamed Hychami, 24, Younes Abouyaaqoub, 22, and Said Aallaa, 18.

All butAbouyaaqoubwere amongthe five killed inCambrils. Police were still searching forAbouyaaqoub.

Spanish media reported Saturday thatAbouyaaqoubisnow thought to be the van's driver, but neither police norother officials would confirm the reports.

Clockwise, Moussa Oukabir, the suspected driver and Said Aallaa, Mohamed Hychami and Younes Abauyaaqoub, who are suspects wanted in connection with the 17 August terrorist attacks in the Catalonian cities of Barcelona and Cambrils. (Spanish Police/EPA)

All four of the suspects identified are of Moroccan origin and from the small city of Ripollabout 100 km north of Barcelona near the Pyrenees mountains and Spain's border with France, according to a court document released by police.

On Saturday, thefamilies of those men arrived as a group in Ripoll's town square and denounced terrorism, with mothers and sisters insisting they did not know what had happened to their sons and brothers.

Police raided an apartment in Ripoll on Friday that had beenoccupied byAbdelbaki EsSatty, according to a search warrant seen by Reuters. Neighbourssaid he was an imam, a Muslim prayer leader. His landlord saidhe had last been seen on Tuesday.

Saturday evening, a police official told The Associated Press Es Satty is believed to have been killed in the Wednesday explosion in Alcanarthat has been linked to the attacks.

Shortly after the attacks, multiple reports identified Oukabiras the driver of the van. Accordingto the document,Oukabirwas born inRipollbut alsoholds Moroccan citizenship, apolice union official said. The other three men were born in Morocco but have Spanish residency.

Police carry out bags after a search of a building in Ripoll as the manhunt intensified earlier Friday for the perpetrators of Europe's latest rampage claimed by ISIS. (Francisco Seco/Associated Press)

Spanishpublic broadcaster RTVE reported thatOukabir'solder brother,DrissOukabir, a 27-year-old French citizen of Moroccan origin,went to police inRipollto report that his identity documents had been stolen.

Various Spanish media saididentification documentswith his name were found in the van and that he claimed his brother might have stolen them.

A resident of Ripoll who spoke with CBC News Thursday night and did not want to be identified said she has known the Oukabirs for 10 years and that several members of thefamily live in Ripoll.Shedescribed the family as friendly andopen.

Driss Oukabir, 27, went to police after the Barcelona attack to say his identity papers had been stolen. His brother Moussa, 17, is believed to have been the driver of the Barcelona van and was killed in the Cambrils shootout. (Spanish National Police/EPA)

She said Driss Oukabir grew up in Ripoll and studied at Institut Abat Oliba de Ripoll. She said Oukabirpreviously had legal troubles, including arrests for dealing drugs and time in Figueres jail. Oukabir's criminal history was also reported in local media.

Van slams into pedestrian mall in Barcelona

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She said her own brother hung out withMoussa Oubakir and three other boys, going to restaurants and the movies. Over the last twoyears, however, the group had been losing touch with Moussa, the source said.

"Normally, when something like this happens, you don' knowthe people, so it doesn't seem so important," she said, "but this time, it really hurts."

Ripoll continued to be the focus of at least part of the investigation into the attacks, with a heavy police presence in the town on Friday.

"There could be more people inRipollconnected to the group,"JoaquimForn,Catalonia's interior minister, told TV3 television.

(CBC)

With files from The Associated Press and Reuters