The original plan of the Islamic terrorists in Barcelona was to blow up the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia and slaughter hundreds in a “spectacular” blast.
The terrorists who killed 14 people and wounded over a hundred in Catalonia had originally planned to drive three vans packed with explosives into iconic parts of Barcelona including the Sagrada Familia cathedral, it has been reported.
Had their butane-filled gas containers not accidentally detonated the night before the atrocities on Thursday, the 12-person terror cell would have used them to maximise deaths in the tourist hotspots of the Spanish city, local media suggest.
They intended to explode one van in Las Ramblas, a second by the world-famous Sagrada Familia cathedral and the last in the port area of the city, El Espanol has claimed.
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The cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the most visited attractions in Europe.
Architect Antonio Gaudi began construction in 1882 and, despite him dying in 1926, it is still officially incomplete.
In 2010 it was consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI as a minor basilica.
Photo credit: Bernard Gagnon