Barcelona attack: Victims came from various nationalities

Barcelona, Aug 18 (IANS) The dead and injured in Thursday's terror attack in Barcelona were of many nationalities including citizens of the US, Britain, China and Pakistan, according to the Catalonian region's Interior Ministry.

Among the victims are a number of children, authorities said.

The nationalities of the victims include Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Argentine, Venezuelan, Australian, Belgian, Peruvian, Romanian, Irish, Cuban, Greek, Macedonian, Austrian Taiwanese, Canadian, Ecuadorian, Taiwanese, Filipino, Kuwaiti and Turkish.

Two people are in currently in custody after a van ran over pedestrians ploughed into pedestrians along the Las Ramblas boulevard on Thursday afternoon killing 13 people and injuring over 100 others.

The Islamic State (IS) terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Joaquim Forn, the head of Catalonia's regional interior ministry, told reporters that 15 of the injured were in serious condition and that the death toll is likely to rise.

Neither of the two people detained in connection with the attack was the driver of the van.

A third person was found dead in his car near a police checkpoint where he exchanged shots with officers.

Las Ramblas was thronged with people at 3 p.m., when the van rammed into several vehicles before barrelling down the tree-lined central pedestrian-only boulevard.