What we know about the two vehicle attacks in Spain

On Monday, Aug. 21, police fatally shot a suspicious man armed with an explosive belt in Subirats, near Barcelona. The man was identified as Younes Abouyaaqoub, the suspected driver of a van that rammed into a Barcelona crowd last Thursday, killing more than a dozen people and wounding at least 100.

Five other suspects had been shot dead on Friday in another car attack in Cambril. Police have arrested three others and said most of the 12 people identified as members of the cell originated from a small town near the French border.

On Sunday, officials said that the cell had planned “a much more serious attack,” that was probably thwarted by an accidental explosion Wednesday.

Barcelona: A white van sped through a pedestrian area

The attack unfolded in Barcelona’s historic Las Ramblas district Thursday afternoon.

A white van entered La Rambla Avenue from Catalunya Square and drove more than 1,700 feet along the center of the avenue, a known pedestrian walkway.

The van rammed through the crowd at high speed, witnesses said, crashing into residents and tourists before it stopped near La Boqueria Market.

 At least 13 people, including an American, died after the attack. An hour after the van attack, police say Abouyaaqoub killed another man to steal a getaway car.

Cambrils: An Audi drives into a crowd

A second vehicle attack occurred Friday morning in Cambrils, located about 70 miles southwest of Barcelona.

Five men in an Audi A3 rammed through a crowd along a corniche at about 1 a.m. One person died of wounds sustained from the attack.

Police fatally shot the men following the attack.

Alcanar:Propane canisters were probably intended for Barcelona attack, officials say

Authorities suggested a link between the van attack and a pair of explosions that destroyed a house in Alcanar, located about 100 miles southeast of Barcelona, on Wednesday, saying that canisters that were probably intended for the Barcelona attack detonated prematurely.

This is the eighth car attack in Europe since 2016

The Barcelona attack is the latest in a series of vehicular, terrorism events that has affected other European countries in the last year, including France, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

In July 2016, a truck sped through a crowd celebrating Bastille Day along the Promenade des Anglais in the French city of Nice, killing 86 people and injuring more than 450.

Thursday’s attack was the worst terrorist attack in Spain since March 2004, when 190 people died during a series of train bombings in Madrid.