Madrid - Spain is stepping up security in its main holiday- maker areas with 4,500 supplementary police during the holiday season, the interior ministry said Thursday. The police officers will guard roads, airports, bus and railway stations, hotels and crowded places in a plan to combat terrorism and common crime.
Such measures are habitual in the summer in Spain, where the armed Basque separatist group ETA often targets tourist attractions with minor attacks.
Spain receives nearly 60 million tourists annually, making it the world's third-biggest tourism destination after France and the United States.
The security measures will be in force until September 30.
