A van ploughed through a crowd of pedestrians Thursday in the center of Barcelona, leaving at least 13 people dead and around 100 injured in an attack claimed by the Islamic State militant group, local authorities said.

Police detained two persons for their alleged involvement in the assault in Spain's second-largest city, while the suspect believed to have driven the vehicle fled the scene.

(Getty / Kyodo)

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the attack was "jihadist terrorism" while calling it a global threat requiring a worldwide response.

World leaders including those from Australia, Britain, France, Germany and the United States condemned the attack. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono also strongly denounced the attack. He expressed his sympathy for the victims and said Japan stands with Spain against terror.

Local police also said they shot dead four terror suspects and arrested a fifth in Cambrils, some 120 kilometers southwest of Barcelona. The police reportedly foiled a terror plot involving a suicide bomb belt and are investigating the case in connection with the Barcelona attack.

According to media reports, Spanish police identified one of the two suspects in the Barcelona attack as Driss Oukabir, in his 20s. He is said to have made a post on a social media site indicating his involvement in the crime.

But other reports said the man came to police following the incident, claiming that his identification was stolen and he was not involved in the attack. Oukabir is from Morocco and the other suspect is from the Spanish enclave of Melilla.

The incident occurred at around 5 p.m. in Las Ramblas, a street that is one of the most well-known and popular parts of the city. The white vehicle zigzagged on the sidewalk for about 700 meters, hitting pedestrians, including a number of tourists.

The Belgian Foreign Ministry confirmed a Belgian woman was among those killed in the attack. Radio France quoted rescue authorities as saying the victims come from a total of over 18 countries in Europe, South America and North Africa among other places.

The Barcelona attack was the latest in a string of terror attacks involving vehicles that rocked Europe in recent years. In Niece, a truck rammed into crowds after Bastille Day fireworks in July 2016, killing 86 people, while in Berlin, a vehicle plowed through a Christmas market, claiming the lives of 12 in December the same year.

Five people were killed in a March terror attack near the Houses of Parliament in central London involving a car and eight died in a June van attack on the London Bridge and subsequent stabbing rampage.

 (Getty / Kyodo)