Brits warned of Christmas Day terror massacre threat

The Sanlitun neighborhood is home to number of foreign embassies as well as a large open-air shopping center.

A Chinese woman was stabbed and killed by a man with a sword during an attack outside the Sanlitun Village shopping complex this past August.

The British, U.S., and French embassies in China say they have received information of possible threats against Westerners visiting a popular shopping district in Beijing around Christmas.

“The British, French and Irish embassies also sent out similar warnings”. Beijing police said the two victims were hit “without cause or reason”.

British intelligence officials also received information of a potential threat, according to the BBC.

Westerners in Beijing have been warned they are the targets of a Christmastime terror threat.

A Reuters photographer saw police commandos with guns in front of Sanlitun’s main mall.

The city’s police confirmed a yellow alert was in place, added: “Beijing police are planning ahead and taking many measures… to ensure public order”.

Dozens of extra police officers, some toting rifles, appeared on Christmas Eve on the streets of the popular Sanlitun section of the city.

Xinjiang has seen violent attacks in recent years, which the Chinese government has blamed on Islamist militants and separatists.

“If you look at previous terrorist threats in the area dating back to the ’90s, except for one incident in central Asia…no other attacks in China and central Asia have targeted Westerners”, he noted.