Explosive belts in Cambrils attack 'fakes'

The explosive belts worn by attackers killed by police in the Catalan resort town of Cambrils were fake, the Spanish region's head Carles Puigdemont says.

A suspected Islamist militant drove a van into crowds in Barcelona, killing 13 people on Thursday, and police said they had killed five attackers later that evening in Cambrils to thwart a separate attack using explosive belts.

Puigdemont told local radio station RACI bomb experts have now confirmed the explosive belts were duds.

Spanish police say the deadly van rampage, the Cambrils shootout and a house explosion in Alcanar are linked.