MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Catalonia foils a second terrorist attack: “five alleged perpetrators killed”

Five “terrorists” were killed in the operation, but initially officials said four people were injured and one person was wounded and detained.

Following a deadly vehicle-ramming attack in Barcelona on Thursday afternoon -- which left at least 13 people killed -- a police operation was carried out 90 minutes south of the city in Cambrils, during which five “terrorists” were killed, officials said.

 Police said the operation was in response to a “possible terrorist attack.” Five “terrorists” were killed in the operation, but initially officials said four people were injured and one person was wounded and detained.

On Twitter, police said they “have killed the alleged perpetrators.” Catalan police said that they believe the incident in Cambrils is related to the attack in Barcelona earlier Thursday. Authorities were working to determine whether the alleged terrorists carried explosive belts.

“We work on the hypothesis that the terrorists killed in Cambrils would be related to the events in Barcelona and Alcanar,” police said. Alcanar is the location of the earlier deadly house explosion that police said was believed to be connected to the Barcelona plot.

Also, Catalunya’s Emergency Services confirmed that in addition to the terrorists, five people were injured. One person is in critical condition, two are in serious condition and two more are in mild condition.

At least 13 people died and more than 100 were injured when a van slammed into pedestrians in Barcelona's Las Ramblas district.

The U.S. State Department said one American was injured in the attack, although it did not identify the individual. “We can confirm one U.S. citizen suffered minor injuries,” a State Department official said. “We are monitoring the situation closely and stand ready to provide consular assistance to any affected U.S. citizens.”

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said at a press conference Friday that four Australians were injured and one is unaccounted for. Greece's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on its website that one Greek national was injured. And Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Didier Reynders tweeted that one of its nationals was killed in the attack.

Police have connected the incident to a house explosion in Alcanar, Spain, Wednesday night. The explosion, which caused part of the building to collapse, killed one person and injured others, police said.

The two people who were arrested were detained in the same town as the house explosion, authorities said.

Police described a separate incident in which a car trying to get past a Barcelona checkpoint hit an officer and another person, police said. The incident killed one person and broke the officer's leg, police said.

A man inside the car was shot by police, authorities said, but they did not confirm whether the incident was connected to the attack in Las Ramblas.