2017 Catalonia attacks — jihadist terrorist attacks in Catalonia, Spain in August 2017
The deadliest terrorist attacks in Spain since 2004, the Barcelona and Cambrils attacks killed 15 people and were linked to an Islamic State-affiliated cell.
Key Facts
- Deaths (total)
- 15 people
- Injured (Barcelona)
- At least 130 people
- Main attack location
- La Rambla, Barcelona
- Secondary attack location
- Cambrils, Catalonia
- Alcanar explosion gas canisters
- More than 120 canisters
- Primary attacker age
- 22 (Younes Abouyaaqoub)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A jihadist terrorist cell operating in Catalonia, linked to Islamic State and allegedly directed by a 40-year-old imam based in Alcanar, planned coordinated vehicle bombings. The cell accidentally detonated their cache of over 120 gas canisters the night before, killing the imam and one other member, forcing the group to resort to vehicle-ramming attacks instead.
On 17 August 2017, Younes Abouyaaqoub drove a van into pedestrians on La Rambla in Barcelona, killing 14 people and injuring over 130. Nine hours later, five cell members carried out a second vehicle attack in Cambrils, killing one woman and injuring six others. All five Cambrils attackers were shot dead by police; Abouyaaqoub was killed four days later in Subirats.
The attacks were the deadliest in Spain since the 2004 Madrid train bombings and prompted a major security response across Spain and Catalonia. Amaq News Agency attributed indirect responsibility to Islamic State. A later 2022 court statement by a former police commissioner raised unresolved questions about whether Spanish intelligence had prior knowledge of the plot.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Younes Abouyaaqoub (primary Barcelona attacker).
Side B
1 belligerent
Mariano Rajoy (Prime Minister of Spain).