Catalonia on high alert over possible terrorist attack

Police in Catalonia are reported to be on high alert over the risk of a possible terrorist attack, according to local media reports Tuesday.

Spanish digital newspaper El Confidential claimed that the Catalan Police discovered a radical jihadist video talking about "kidnapping in Catalonia one or more members of the police and carrying out a public execution in order to terrify the rest," Xinhua reported.

Spain has been hard to crack down on recruitment networks for jihadist groups, with a series of operations carried out over recent months.

A fortnight ago, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and opposition leader Pedro Sanchez signed a pact to pass a new anti-terrorism law through Spain's congress.

One of the most controversial aspects of this law is the possibility of full life sentences for offenders, rather than a maximum prison term of 30 years which currently exists in Spain.