Incident Summary:

08/18/2017: Five assailants rammed a vehicle into a crowd of pedestrians in Cambrils, Catalonia, Spain. The assailants, wearing fake suicide belts, then exited the vehicle and attacked nearby civilians with knives. One person was killed and six people, including a police officer, were injured in the assault before all five assailants were shot and killed by police. This was one of three coordinated attacks in Catalonia within 24 hours. Authorities identified the assailants as Muslim extremists. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed that the attack was carried out in an effort to target countries participating in the United States-led coalition against the group; however, the veracity of this claim could not be verified.

GTD ID:
201708180003

When:
2017-08-18

Country:
Spain

Region:
Western Europe

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Catalonia

City:
Cambrils

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Armed Assault
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property
Name of Entity Not Applicable
Specific Description Civilians
Nationality of Target Spain
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage Unknown
Extent of Property Damage Unknown
Value of Property Damage Unknown
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Melee Knife or Other Sharp Object
Vehicle (not to include vehicle-borne explosives, i.e., car or truck bombs)
Fake Weapons
Weapon Details
A black Audi A3, knives, and fake suicide belts were used in the attack.
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?Yes
Part of Multiple Incident?Yes
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Additional Information The victims included Spanish civilian Ana Maria Suarez.
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Muslim extremists No
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators 5
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 6 Fatalities / 6 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 6
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 5
Total Number of Injured 6
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
"Barcelona attacks: What we know so far," BBC, August 21, 2017.
"Spain attacks: Isis claims responsibility for Cambrils car rampage after Barcelona atrocity; Authorities say terror cell now 'dismantled'," The Independent, August 19, 2017.
"Spanish police foil second attack in Cambrils, hours after Las Ramblas incident," RTE Online, August 18, 2017.