European travel alert issued for Americans

 In the wake of some new government intelligence that points to terrorist activity, the U.S. State department issued an alert yesterday that warns tourists in Europe to be vigilant.

The announcement fell short of a warning, which is what would be issued in the event of an imminent threat. The alert, however, cautioned that al-Qaida and other terrorist groups are planning terrorist attacks on the continent and they're targeting Americans and Europeans, specifically, in a Mumbai-2008-type-attack. It's believed they could target public transportation, ships, planes and other sites within the "tourist infracture."

Of course, everyone's wondering how this will affect the already-hurting European economy, since there are literally hundreds of thousands of American tourists, business travelers, workers and students in Europe at any given time.

The alert, posted on the State Department website, advised: "U.S. citizens should take every precaution to be aware of their surroundings and to adopt appropriate safety measures to protect themselves when traveling."

The government also recommends that U.S. citizens register their travel plans with the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy through the State Department's travel registration website. This way the department will know where you are in the event of an attack while you're overseas. That's good practice even when an alert hasn't been issued.

Click the blue add a comment box here and let us know how this will affect your plans.