German police announced this Sunday the arrest of three alleged Islamists suspected of planning a vehicle attack on Cologne Cathedral on New Year’s Eve.
The arrests are followed by another, for the same reason, shortly before Christmas in Germany.
The suspects are members of “Islamist groups,” regional Interior Minister Herbert Reulle said at a press conference, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported.
Three suspects were detained in the cities of Duisburg, Herne and Düren in western Germany, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and their apartments were searched. No details about his identity have been released, according to the Associated Press (AP).
According to the AP, the four people detained so far, including a Tajik national (a term that refers to several Persian nations) detained before Christmas, are believed to belong to an expanded network that includes people from across Germany and other European countries, he said. Cologne Police Chief Johannes Hermans reported this to the German news agency dpa (Deutsche Prece-Agentur).
State Home Secretary Herbert Royle called the arrests a “success” and thanked investigators.
A regional official said Islamic extremists have always been active, but are now more active than usual and police are “always trying to be a few steps ahead.”
Police received information about the plan to attack Cologne Cathedral shortly before Christmas, with the attack expected to take place on New Year’s Eve.
The world-famous cathedral was under heavy security last week and the threat led to its closure to tourists from Christmas Eve.
Typically, more than 100,000 tourists visit the cathedral in the last week of the year, but on the last days only the faithful are allowed to attend mass, and only after careful security checks, including search dogs.
In the late afternoon of this Sunday, about a thousand police officers were on duty outside the cathedral as people gathered to celebrate New Year’s Eve.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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