Multiple deaths reported in Barcelona van attack

At least 14 people have been killed in Barcelona after a van rammed into dozens of people in a popular pedestrian area of the city in what authorities are calling a terrorist attack. 

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) took credit for the attack, which Spanish officials are reporting left 50 others injured.

President Trump has condemned the attack and offered help to the country. 

The United States condemns the terror attack in Barcelona, Spain, and will do whatever is necessary to help. Be tough & strong, we love you!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017

The White House said chief of staff John Kelly is also keeping Trump abreast of the situation.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson addressed the attacks during a news conference with Japanese officials, reaffirming America’s commitment to fighting terrorism. 

“Terrorists around the world should know the United States and our allies are resolved to find you and bring you to justice,” he said. 

Authorities said two people had been arrested in the attack, including 28-year-old Driss Oukabir, a Moroccan citizen living in Spain legally. 

Police believed Oukabir rented the van in question from an agency some 40 miles from Barcelona, though reports emerged Friday that his brother, who is at large, may have done so after stealing his papers. A Spanish passport was found in the vehicle.

The terror in Barcelona began when a van veered off into a pedestrian area of the Las Ramblas district, a popular spot with tourists crowded with stands and shops.

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Islamic State supporters claimed responsibility for the attack.

Confusion also reigned, with reports of a separate gun attack on police from Fox News, and other reports of a hostages possibly having been taken at a restaurant.

Fox News reported that the hostage report may have been false, and that people actually could have barricaded themselves into the restaurant for their own protection.

This would just be the latest terror attack on a major European city in recent years. 

The cities of London and Manchester have both been hit, including in a similar June attack in which a van drove into pedestrians on London Bridge. Several men in the van armed with knives then stabbed a number of people in the nearby Borough Market, leaving eight dead and 48 wounded.

In 2016, a cargo truck was used in a terror attack in Nice, France. ISIS claimed responsibility for the Nice attack, which killed 86 people.  

The deadly crash comes days after a man with reported white supremacist ties allegedly rammed his car into a crowd of anti-racist protesters in Charlottesville, Va., during a white supremacist rally to protest the removal of a Confederate statue, killing one and injuring more than a dozen others. 

— Last updated at 7:03 a.m. Friday. Jordan Fabian contributed.