Rabat- Eighteen-year-old Moussa Oukabir is suspected of being the driver of the vehicle-ramming attack of Las Ramblas. Currently on the run, he is understood to have stolen his brother’s papers to rent the white Fiat van used in the attack, according the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia.
His older brother, Driss Oukabir, turned himself at the police station in the town of Ripoll, Catalonia, in the evening after having seen his photo in the media, according to the mayor of the municipality. Once arrested, Driss told the authorities that he took no part in the terrorist attack, and that his younger brother, Moussa, had stolen his passport and ID to rent the Fiat van.
The 17- or 18-year-old young man of Moroccan origin is now emerging as the main suspect of the murderous attack, according to El Mundo, after the first investigations of Catalan authorities found a social media account in the name of the suspect with posts discussing the deaths of “infidels.”
Carles Puigdemont, the president of Catalonia, confirmed that Moussa Oukabir was still on the run this Friday, and that he is believed to be the alleged driver of the van in the attack in which at least 13 people were killed and 100 injured.
Spanish media is reporting that an account on the social network Kiwi contains comments referencing the “killing of infidels,’’ language often used by jihadi extremists against non-Muslims. The account bears the name and picture of Moussa Oukabir.
A witness on the scene told Spanish media that the van driver was no more than 25 years old, “skinny”, and with “chestnut brown hair.” Regional police chief Major Josep Luis Trapero said police had launched Operation Cage to find the van driver and any others involved in the attacks.
“There is no evidence that the person who left the van was armed. We do not believe he was armed, at least visibly,’’ he told reporters.
“We entered all of the bars and establishments of the area to make sure that nobody was hiding. This was clearly a terrorist attack with the intention of killing as many people as possible.’’
