Barcelona plot suspect tells Spanish court that group planned bigger attack with explosives

A man lights a candle at an impromptu memorial where a van crashed into pedestrians at Las Ramblas in Barcelona, Spain August 21, 2017. REUTERS/Susana Vera

MADRID (Reuters) - An alleged member of an Islamist group that carried out the Barcelona van attack told a Spanish court on Tuesday that the group had been planning a much bigger attack using explosives, a judicial source said. The testimony to Spain's High Court came from Mohamed Houli Chemlal, who was arrested after being hurt in a blast at a house in Alcanar, southwest of Barcelona, a day before Thursday's van attack on the crowded Las Ramblas boulevard in Barcelona which killed 13 people. (Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Jesus Aguado)