Barcelona terror attack: Spanish royals King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia attend emotional mass for victims at Segrada Familia

Jonathan Mitchell20 August 2017

The King and Queen of Spain led mourners as they gathered to remember the victims of the Barcelona terror attack in an emotional service at the Segrada Familia.

The Royals joined politicians and Catalans at the basilica on Sunday morning to honour the 14 people killed and more than 120 wounded in attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils.

The mass was celebrated at the iconic Salvador Gaudi-designed Sagrada Familia, which some Spanish media reports have since claimed was also set to be targeted.

Cardinal Joan Josep Omella called for Spain to unite for a better world at the mass, welcoming members of Catalonia's Muslim community and calling for "peace, respect, fraternal coexistence and love".

He read a telegram of condolences from Pope Francis, who condemned the "cruel terrorist act" on the streets of the famous European city.

Spanish authorities have said the terror cell responsible for the attacks has been dismantled, but the search is still on the suspected van driver.

The towns of Ripoll and Manlleu are understood to be the focus of the manhunt.

The investigation is also focusing on a missing imam who police believe could have died in a massive house explosion on Wednesday.

Spanish interior minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said five members of the cell were shot dead, four were in custody and as many as two were killed in an explosion.

A police officer stands guard outside the Segrada Familia
AFP/Getty Images

He said no new attacks were imminent, the country's terrorist threat alert will be maintained at level four, and security at popular events and tourist sites around the country will be reinforced.

Fears are continuing to grow over the fate of seven-year-old Julian Cadman, understood to be a dual British-Australian national, who became separated from his mother during the Barcelona attack.

Speaking after the family made an initial plea for help to find the missing boy, Prime Minister Theresa May said a child with dual British nationality was believed to be among those unaccounted for.

Julian's father and grandmother are believed to have arrived in Spain on Saturday after travelling from Australia.

Some 34 nationalities were among those wounded in the attacks in Las Ramblas and in Cambrils, which lies around 70 miles to the south west.

Catalan authorities said they have identified some of the victims of the attack in Barcelona as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Spanish-Argentine and American.

The victim of the second assault in Cambrils has been identified as a Spanish woman.

Family members and government officials have said a Belgian and a Canadian are also amongst the dead following the attack in Barcelona.

On Friday it emerged another suspect, Moussa Oukabir, who is thought to have rented the van, was among five men shot dead as they launched a second attack in the coastal town of Cambrils.

The teenager, said to be 17 or 18 years old, is suspected of using his brother's documents to hire the vehicle that ploughed through pedestrians in the tourist hotspot on Thursday evening.

He reportedly died along with Said Aallaa, 19, and Mohamed Hychami, 24, who were part of a group that mounted a similar attack in Cambrils that left one woman dead and six people injured.

The identities of the other two dead attackers are yet to be confirmed by police.

Four men, aged 21, 27, 28 and 34, who were arrested in connection with the attack remain in custody.

Three are Moroccan and one Spanish, and police said none of them was previously known to the security services for terror-related reasons.

Moussa Oukabir's older brother, Driss Oukabir, is reported to be one of those detained.

Police said the terrorists behind the rampage were preparing bigger attacks, with the suspected gas explosion on Wednesday in Alcanar believed to have robbed the killers of materials to use in larger-scale operations.

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