Ankara – A spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry slammed on Saturday a US consular warning of a possible terrorist attack in the city of Istanbul.

Hussein Mufti Oglu condemned the warning as not being based on any tangible intelligence, but on the activity of Turkish police and the intensified security forces patrols in the neighborhoods of Mecidiyekoy and Sisli.

“US authorities made this statement based on normal precautions taken by our security forces rather than any concrete intelligence.”

A US Consulate in Turkey has alerted its citizens of heightened security in the central Istanbul neighborhood of Mecidiyekoy and Sisli because of a possible terror threat.

The statement released late Friday said the Turkish security presence was increased in Mecidiyekoy and cited a specific street. It said the consulate didn’t have additional information on the specifics of the threat and asked American citizens to remain vigilant.

Istanbul is witnessing numerous security campaigns aimed at establishing stability and arresting terrorist suspects.

In a related development, security forces detained 11 suspected ISIS extremists in the southern Gaziantep district by the border with Syria.

The detainees, who include Syrians, were plotting a terror attack aimed at creating media uproar.