The Sagrada Familia cathedral is seen as thousands of people gather for a rally on Catalonia's national day 'La Diada' in Barcelona, Spain on September 11. REUTERS/Albert Gea

Catalan police declared a false alarm following a bomb scare that had led agents to cordon off Barcelona's Sagrada Familia church and send in a bomb squad to check a parked van.

Police said on Twitter they had cordoned off the cathedral and asked people to avoid the area while the operation is carried out.

Barcelona was hit by attacks last month when militant Islamists drove a van down the city's Las Ramblas boulevard and carried out a follow-up attack in a nearby resort town, killing 16 people in total.

All streets around Sagrada Familia are blocked and police are moving everyone out of the area. Stay safe. pic.twitter.com/W0qsMcEnhp — cÄtÄlin codrean (@ccodrean) September 12, 2017

The Sagrada Familia, designed by famous architect Antoni Gaudi, is the city's most well-known landmark and attracts millions of tourists from around the world every year.

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