Explosive belt around his waist, Barcelona terrorist meets violent end

The Barcelona terrorist has been brought to justice, shot dead by police just outside the city after a continent-wide search, according to the New York Times.

Younes Abouyaaqoub killed 13 people Thursday when he mowed down a crowd in a van, then killed another person while stealing a getaway car.

The attacks

Spanish police believe 12 men were members of a terror cell responsible for the attack in Barcelona and a related car attack in Cambrils. Six of those men are now dead, and four have been detained.

The remaining two members, as well as the imam who is believed to have inspired the attacks, are thought to have been killed in a house explosion the day before the Barcelona attack. The house served as a bomb factory for the cell.

The imam, Abdelbaki Essati, preached in the town of Ripoll, where he radicalized the terrorists through his preaching and personal influence. Essati has ties to Islamic extremist that go back at least 10 years.

The manhunt

Authorities searched across Europe, and nations, including France and Italy, tightened border controls as speculation circulated that Abouyaaqoub had escaped Spain.

He was eventually found in a collection of villages called Subirats, about 20 miles west of Barcelona. He was gunned down reportedly while wearing an explosive belt.

The aftermath

Yet another European terrorist attack claimed by the Islamic State puts a harsh spotlight on the sizable Muslim community in Spain. Muslims who had nothing to do with the attack and have no ties to radical Islamic terrorism will be treated with higher scrutiny, particularly in the communities that produced the members of this terror cell.

They'll be forced to answer tough questions about why they didn't notice or report the activities such as a bomb factory in a home.

"Just because someone is a criminal, doesn't mean everyone in the neighborhood is responsible, said Javid Mughal, the director of an immigrant newspaper based in El Raval.

How do you separate the religion of Islam from the deadly attacks by radical Islamic terrorism organizations like ISIS? Or do you view them as one and the same? We'd love to hear your perspective in the comments section.