Spanish cities beef up security ahead of Easter celebrations

Security in Spain's biggest cities is to be strengthened ahead of the Easter holidays to avoid a possible terror attack, according to Spanish media reports on Saturday.

The news comes in the wake of the attack close to the Houses of Parliament in London at the end of March and Friday's attack in Sweden, which caused four deaths as a terror suspect drove a truck into a crowd in Stockholm.

Although the level of anti-terrorist alert will not be raised from the current (high) level 4, which has been in effect since June 2015, to level 5, which would mean knowledge of an imminent attack on Spanish territory, local authorities are taking extra precautions, especially around the traditional Easter processions which are held all over the country.

Trucks of over 3,500 kg will not be allowed in the center of Madrid on the day processions are scheduled, in a repeat of the policy used at Christmas.

In Malaga, local authorities will use "specific measures" such as a video surveillance system, using 17 cameras covering the city's main streets, while trucks of over 7,500 kg will be banned.

Seville's historic processions will be protected by 3,200 police officers, 12 percent more than in 2016, while in the region of Castile and Leon, where the Easter processions in Zamora, Leon and Valladolid have been declared of "international tourist interest," authorities will install barriers, bollards, concrete blocks and police vehicles to impede the entry of non-authorized vehicles into pedestrian areas.

Meanwhile, the access of heavy vehicles to areas where large numbers of people are expected to congregate is to be limited in both the Catalan and Basque regions, where the Easter tradition is less strong than in the rest of Spain. Endi