US State Department Issues Terror Warning for Barcelona
The US State Department has issued a security alert for those in the area of Barcelona, Spain. The department is urging "heightened caution" in the Ramblas area of downtown Barcelona during the holiday season.
The Catala regional government's Minister for the Interior, Miquel Buch, says the warning is just one of many that Spanish authorities receive. Buch stated that the terror alert level in Spain will remain at Level 4 out of 5, where it has been since 2015. Buch reiterated that the Spanish authorities take all threats seriously and the warning issued by the US State Department will be treated like any other.
Buch encouraged people to remain vigilant as always, but stated that there was no plan to raise the current threat level in Spain. Authorities will continue to work with the same intensity as always to ensure the safety of the region, he said. The Ramblas, the most crowded area of one of the world's most popular tourist destinations, were the site of an attack in 2017, when a man ploughed a van into the crowd killing 14 people. The attack was later claimed by the so-called Islamic State terrorist group.
