A white van jumped up onto a sidewalk and sped down a pedestrian zone Thursday in Barcelona's historic Las Ramblas... (Associated Press) 
 
 BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A van veered onto a promenade and barreled down the busy walkway in central Barcelona on Thursday, swerving back and forth as it mowed down pedestrians and turned a picturesque tourist destination into a bloody killing zone. "It was clearly a terror attack, intended to kill as many people as possible," Josep Lluis Trapero, a senior police official for Spain's Catalonia region told reporters late Thursday. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility, saying in a statement on its Aamaq news agency that the attack was carried out by "soldiers of the Islamic State" in response to the extremist group's calls for followers to target countries participating in the coalition trying to drive it from Syria and Iraq.  BARCELONA (Reuters) - The driver of the van that plowed into crowds in Barcelona, killing 13 people, may still be alive and at large, Spanish police said on Friday, denying earlier media reports that he had been shot dead in a Catalan seaside resort. A Spanish woman was killed in the Cambrils incident, while several other civilians and a police officer were injured. The force is working on the theory that the Cambrils suspects are linked to the Barcelona attack, as well as to a Wednesday night explosion in the town of Alcanar in which one person was killed. The dead and injured came from 34 countries, ranging from France and Germany to Pakistan and the Philippines. Several hours later authorities reported two arrests, one a Spanish national from Melilla, a Spanish-run Mediterranean seafront enclave in North Africa, and the other a Moroccan. Spanish media said two of them may have been killed by the blast in Alcanar while one man of Moroccan origin was still sought by the police. “It is still a possibility but, unlike four hours ago, it is losing weight,” he told regional TV. (For a graphic on Barcelona crash, click tmsnrt.rs/2fOJ9Sm) 
 
 It was the latest of a string of attacks across Europe in the past 13 months in which militants have used vehicles as weapons - a crude but deadly tactic that is near-impossible to prevent and has now killed nearly 130 people in France, Germany, Britain, Sweden and Spain. Thursday's bloodshed was Spain's deadliest attack since 2004, when al-Qaida-inspired bombers killed 192 people in coordinated assaults on Madrid's commuter trains. In the years since, Spanish authorities have arrested nearly 200 jihadists. The driver abandoned the van and fled on Thursday after speeding along a section of Las Ramblas, the most famous boulevard in Barcelona, leaving a trail of dead and injured among the crowds of tourists and local residents thronging the street. Slideshow (21 Images) 
 
 King Mohammed VI of Morocco sent his condolences to Spain. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said an American citizen was confirmed dead, and Spanish media said several children were killed. Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau announced a minute of silence to be held Friday in Barcelona's main square "to show that we are not scared." As Spain began three days of mourning, people returned to Las Ramblas, laying flowers and lighting candles in memory of the victims. U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking by phone with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Friday, pledged the full support of the United States in investigating the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils and bringing the perpetrators to justice. British Prime Minister Theresa May said the U.K. "stands with Spain against terror" while French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: "All my thoughts and solidarity from France for the victims of the tragic attack in Barcelona.
– Police in Spain say they killed five terror suspects Thursday night during a second terrorist attack hours after a van plowed into pedestrians in Barcelona, killing 13 people and injuring more 100. Police have released few details on the suspects killed in the town of Cambrils, south of Barcelona, though there are unconfirmed reports that they were wearing explosive belts. Authorities say the Cambrils suspects deliberately drove an Audi A3 into pedestrians before encountering a police patrol. Police say six bystanders and one police officer were also injured, the Guardian reports. Two other suspects have been arrested in connection with the Barcelona attack, authorities say, though the van's driver, who fled on foot after creating scenes of horror on a pedestrian walkway, is still believed to be at large. Police say they believe the Cambrils attack was linked to the Barcelona attack. ISIS has claimed responsibility for Spain's deadliest terrorist attack since 2004, saying it was carried out by "soldiers of the Islamic State," the AP reports. Authorities say that before the Barcelona attack, a person was killed in a blast in Alcanar, a town southwest of the city, where people in a house were apparently preparing explosives, Reuters reports.