Europe on alert after attacks warning

Japan and Sweden become the latest countries to issue travel alerts for their citizens in Europe.

PARIS: Japan and Sweden on Monday became the latest countries to issue travel alerts for their citizens amid growing fears of a major Al-Qaeda attack on landmark sites in Europe.

Tokyo and Stockholm joined Washington and London in issuing an alert warning of a "possible terrorist attack" by Al-Qaeda and affiliated groups against their citizens travelling in Europe.

The US State Department said in its alert on Sunday that attackers may use "a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests" in Europe.

Britain immediately backed the US alert and warned its own citizens of a "high threat of terrorism" in France and Germany.

Sweden's foreign ministry called on Swedish travellers to the rest of Europe to be on alert "in public places, in and around public buildings, at tourist attractions, on public transport and in other places with large crowds."

Japan urged citizens to exercise caution at government and police facilities, public transport systems and tourist spots.

US channel Fox News, citing unnamed intelligence officials, said militants had a list of targets in France and Germany, including Paris's Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral, Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, the city's central railway station and the Alexanderplatz TV tower.

Fox cited a senior western intelligence official as saying that the information about the target list was provided by "a German-Pakistani national interrogated at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan."

The Eiffel Tower, France's most-visited tourist attraction, was twice evacuated last month because of telephoned bomb warnings, but French officials said there was no reason to raise the current threat level from red to scarlet, which would mean it considered an attack imminent.

A small number of soldiers patrolled as usual at the foot of the Eiffel Tower early Monday as long lines of visitors waited to climb the tower, a magnet for many of the 74.2 million visitors to France last year.

Though there were no visible signs of heightened security, some tourists said they felt more vigilant than usual.

"We decided not to go up the Eiffel Tower because of the possibility of what could happen" after hearing of the travel advisory on CNN, said Eileen Carbrello, 60, a tourist from Virginia.

Germany's interior minister warned against "alarmism" about the threat, saying there were "no indications of imminent attacks in Germany."

Thomas de Maiziere told reporters in Berlin there was a "high abstract threat" and that all leads were being investigated with "high intensity".

"I ask for understanding when I say that I cannot and will not describe the individual measures of our authorities."

US tourists in Berlin were undeterred Monday as they visited a surviving piece of the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz.

"We are not going to allow terrorists to change our plans or our lifestyle. That's one way they win if they change your lifestyle or the way you do things," said Mark Yblood, 61, a sales executive from Texas.

"I think we'll be okay. You just have to be smart and aware of your surroundings, be aware of what's going on around you."

Tim Souza, 51, a mechanical engineer from California, said: "Yeah, we're worried about it but they're not going to leave us scared. We are just being more cautious, keeping our eyes open for things that are suspicious ... Germany is a very secure country."

Of the 10.6 million Americans who visited Europe last year, 1.5 million visited Germany, 250,000 of them going to Berlin.

Italy's Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said Monday the threat level there remained "high" but that no specific targets had been identified as being under particular threat.

"US citizens should take every precaution to be aware of their surroundings and to adopt appropriate safety measures to protect themselves when traveling," said the US alert.

It said attackers may use "a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests," and that particular targets could include railways, subways and locations frequented by tourists.

The alert, which the State Department issues regarding specific events, and is one step down from a travel warning, follows intelligence reports that suggested an Al-Qaeda attack could be imminent.

The reports said well-armed teams of terrorists planned to seize and murder Western hostages in a manner similar to the attacks two years ago in the Indian city of Mumbai on two hotels and its main railway station, in which 10 gunmen killed 166 people and injured more than 300.