After the warning from the United States Department of State, the police in Barcelona have intensified security checks in some of the most recognizable monuments in the Spanish city.
The surprise warning came in the form of a post on the popular Twitter social network on Sunday 23 December. In the tweet, the State Department advised travelers to "exercise greater caution around vehicle movement areas, including buses". He added that terrorists could "attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transport hubs and other public areas".
It is rare for the State Department to issue warnings for specific locations, unless the US government has critical information indicating the possibility of a terrorist attack.
Hours after the State Department warning, Miquel Buch, Minister of the Interior for the Spanish region of Catalonia, intervening at a radio station in Barcelona said that the local authorities "were engaged in the assessment of the warning" by the authorities US. Local media confirmed that the presence of police in the bus, minibus, train and metro stations of the Catalan capital has increased.
Heavily armed police also present to protect the most famous tourist monuments of Barcelona, including the Sagrada Familia, the Gothic Quarter and the pedestrian boulevard along the Ramblas, in the city center.
There is no information on the precise nature of the US warning, but there have been reports in the Catalan media on Tuesday that the warning alert involved the possibility of a vehicular attack by Islamists during the holiday season.
In August of 2017, Younes Abouyaaqoub, a Moroccan Islamist of 22 years, driving a van in Las Ramblas a large crowd of tourists killing 14 people and injuring about 150. Attack of Abouyaaqoub followed another assault by five men in Cambrils, a small seaside town south of Barcelona, driving a car hit by pedestrians, killing one and injuring six others.
All six men were members of the Islamic State. They were killed and shot by the police and security forces.
