The Spanish government is to ramp up security at busy tourist sites across the country following this week’s attacks that left at least 13 people dead and more than 130 injured, it has said.
The country’s interior minister, Juan Ignacio Zoido, told a press conference on Saturday morning that areas judged to be potential terror targets – especially where large numbers of people gather – would be given “special protection”.
“We are going to redirect our efforts and will adapt these to every place or area that needs special protection,” Mr Zoido told reporters.
People of 35 different nationalities are thought to have been injured in the van attack on La Rambla, one of Barcelona’s most famous tourist hotspots – and authorities worry that terrorists could have eyes on the country’s crucial tourism industry.
On Friday and Saturday, there was an increased police presence in Barcelona, with visible patrols across the centre of the city. A specialist police firearms team was visible near La Rambla, with marked vans parked at strategic locations.
The overall security response has so far been somewhat hands-off, however, with traffic again allowed to flow freely on the non-pedestrianised section of the boulevard, which has twin traffic lanes either side of a large tiled walkway featuring cafes, artists, and market stalls.
The Spanish government has also clarified that it will not be raising its terror alert level to five, the highest level, and will be leaving it at four. Level five indicates that an attack is thought to be imminent and would mean the the presence of soldiers on the streets and at places such as train stations or shopping centres.
The minister said that the threat level would stay at four in part because authorities believe the alleged terror cell behind the attacks on Barcelona’s La Rambla and in the resort town of Cambrils on Thursday and Friday has been dismantled.
This is despite Catalonian police conducting an ongoing manhunt for 22-year old Moroccan national Younes Abouyaaqoub, the suspected driver of the van in Thursday’s La Rambla massacre and the new centre of the police investigation.
The decision not to raise the threat level was taken after a meeting of the the Bureau of Extraordinary Terrorist Threats, Mr Zoido said, which was attended by security officials.
The Spanish authorities may be considering the impact of a higher threat level to the country’s tourist industry – the second biggest in the world – during high season. Hoteliers in Barcelona approached by The Independent on Friday reported cancellations following the attack on La Rambla.
