Spanish police search for missing Moroccan imam following Barcelona attacks

A missing imam and a house that exploded days ago became the focus of Spanish investigators looking into an extremist cell responsible for two deadly attacks in Barcelona and a nearby resort.

This comes as authorities narrowed in on suspects accused of radicalising a group of young men in north-eastern Spain.

Investigators searched the home of Abdelbaki es Satty, an imam who in June abruptly quit working at a mosque in the Spanish town of Ripoll.

The town was home to the militants behind this week's attacks, which killed 14 people and wounded over 120 this week.

Police were trying to determine whether es Satty was killed in a botched bomb-making operation on Wednesday, the eve of the Barcelona bloodshed.

Es Satty's former mosque has denounced the deadly attacks.

Weeping relatives of the perpertrators of the deadly attacks marched into a Ripoll Square on Saturday, tearfully denying any knowledge of the radical plans.

Spanish police on Friday released the names of three Moroccans suspected of deadly terror attacks.

Of the 12 people police suspect of involvement in the attacks, five were shot dead by security forces in Cambrils and another four have been arrested, said Josep Lluis Trapero of Catalonia's police during a television interview late on Friday.

The three remaining suspects have been identified but have not been detained, he added.

Catalonia's regional police identified them as Moussa Oukabir, 17, Said Aallaa, 18, and Mohamed Hychami, 24. Police said they were searching for a fourth suspect, Younes Abouyaaqoub, aged 22.