LOC14:32
11:32 GMT
MADRID, Aug 18 (KUNA) -- Spaniards observed a minute of silence on Friday in homage to fellow citizens who lost their life or got injured in Thursday's deadly van attack in Barcelona.
Attending the somber and symbolic ceremony in the city main square were Premier Mariano Rajoy and King Felipe VI, along with politicians, prominent figures and thousands of citizens.
"We are not scared," chanted the mourners, reacting to the attack on Thursday when a man rammed a van into crowds on a fashionable street in Barcelona.
At least 15 people died and 86 others were injured in the attack, the latest of such bloody incidents that have been witnessed in Europe since years back.
The ceremony brought the Spaniards together despite political differences. The local Catalonian government plans a separation referendum from the Spanish motherland on October 1.
The capital Madrid witnessed identical attacks in 2004. The new one coincided with peak of the summer tourism season.
Some of the attacks in Europe have been claimed by the notorious group, the so-called Islamic State (IS), doctrine of which is very much identical to that of the shadowy organization, Al-Qaeda. (end)
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