Al-Azhar condemns Barcelona terror attack

Egypt’s Al-Azhar has strongly condemned a terror attack in Barcelona on Thursday that killed and injured a number of civilians.

In a statement on its official website on Thursday, Al-Azhar, the highest seat in Sunni Islam,  reaffirmed “its rejection of all criminal actions carried out by terrorist organisations anywhere in the world.”

The statement asserted that Islam confirms the right of all people to live in peace regardless of their religion, colour, gender, or language.

The Sunni religious institution also called on the international community to make further efforts to combat violence and eliminate terrorism by all available means, and stressed the need to work on a clear strategy to extend world peace, and consolidate the values of social peace and mutual cohabitation against extremism and terrorism.

On Thursday, a van ploughed into crowds in Barcelona’s Las Ramblas avenue in the city centre. A suspect of a Moroccan origin was arrested following the attack, according to Spanish police.

A second vehicle attack in the town of Cambrils saw a number of suspects arrested.

The attacks killed 14 and wounded over 100 more, and injured people of at least 34 different nationalities.

Source: Ahram online