Cologne police chief says sniffer canines will search constructing following indications of assault deliberate for New 12 months’s Eve.
German police have searched a cathedral within the western metropolis of Cologne amid warnings of a potential assault deliberate for New 12 months’s Eve.
Cologne police chief Michael Esser stated on Saturday that Cologne Cathedral can be closed and sniffer canines can be introduced in to look the constructing after the night mass service.
“Even though the information relates to New Year’s Eve, we are from this evening doing everything we can to ensure the safety of visitors of the cathedral on Christmas Eve,” Esser stated in a press release.
Guests on Sunday should bear safety checks earlier than getting into the cathedral.
German newspaper Bild reported that authorities in Germany, Austria and Spain have all obtained indications that an Islamist group was plotting assaults in Europe, with targets probably together with Christmas plenty in Cologne, Vienna and Madrid.
On Saturday, particular forces in Vienna and Germany arrested plenty of suspects, Bild additionally reported.
Al Jazeera couldn’t independently affirm the arrests.
Austrian police stated in a press release they have been boosting safety for church buildings and Christmas markets because of the heightened state of alert.
“Given that terrorist actors throughout Europe are calling for attacks on Christian events, especially around December 24, the security authorities have taken the corresponding protection measures in public spaces,” the police stated in a press release.
Earlier this month, Spain’s Inside Ministry introduced it could ramp up safety measures for the Christmas vacation interval.
Cologne Cathedral, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Website in 1996, is one among Germany’s hottest vacationer sights, attracting greater than six million guests every year.