Updated at 12.44pm
THE FATHER OF two of the suspected Spanish terror attackers has said he hopes his son who is still alive is innocent.
Said Oukabir broke down in tears as he described how his boys were two normal people and that he had no idea they were radicalised.
His 17-year-old son Moussa – was one of the five suspects shot dead in Cambrils. His older brother, Driss, counts among the four arrested.
Spanish police said this morning they do not know if the man suspected of driving the van used in a deadly vehicle attack in Barcelona is still in Spain. Some reports suggest he may have fled to France.
More than 120 gas canisters in a house in Alcanar, where suspects were believed to be building bombs for “one or more” attacks in Barcelona.
“We’re under shock, completely devastated,” Oukabir told AFP, saying Moussa had been studying “normally” at school while Driss worked “honestly”.
“I hope they will say he’s innocent… I don’t want to lose my two sons.”
Police said they believed the suspects were planning a much larger attack.
“They were preparing one or several attacks in Barcelona, and an explosion in Alcanar stopped this as they no longer had the material they needed to commit attacks of an even bigger scope,” said Josep Lluis Trapero of Catalonia’s police.
Security forces were seen removing dozens of gas canisters from the house in Alcanar on Friday.
Victims of the attack came from three dozen countries including Algeria, Australia, China, France, Ireland, Peru and Venezuela, reflecting Barcelona’s status as Spain’s most popular tourist destination.
Fifty-four people are still in hospital, including 12 in critical condition, Catalan emergency services said.
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