Security circles: No arrests in North Rhine-Westphalia due to plan to attack Cologne Cathedral

There have so far been no arrests in North Rhine-Westphalia in connection with a possible attack plan on Cologne Cathedral. The German Press Agency learned this from security circles on Sunday morning.

No explosives were discovered during the search of the cathedral. The explosives detection dogs found nothing on Saturday evening.

The police say they have increased security measures at Cologne Cathedral because of indications of a possible attack plan by an Islamist group. Police officers searched the cathedral with sniffer dogs on Saturday evening and announced that they would check all visitors on Christmas Eve. “Bild” had previously reported that there had already been the first arrests by special forces in Vienna and one in Germany on Saturday.

According to dpa information, security authorities had received information about a possible attack plan by an Islamist group on Cologne Cathedral. A church in Vienna was also a possible target, it was said on Saturday.

According to dpa information, the group may have a connection to an offshoot of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist network, which calls itself the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISPK) and has been in an armed conflict with the militant Islamist Taliban in Afghanistan for several years carries out.

Reuk: Don’t give up going to church out of fear

In view of the precautionary measures, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul appealed to people not to forego visiting church at Christmas for fear of an attack. “Caution is the order of the day. We know: the threat of terrorism is higher than it has been for a long time and our Christian holiday rituals are of course also a target for Islamist terrorists,” said the CDU politician to the German Press Agency in Düsseldorf.

“But we are not without protection. Our authorities are using all their knowledge to protect us as best as possible. The measures in Cologne now show this,” emphasized Reul and added: “My appeal: go to church, celebrate Christmas. Fear is the currency of terrorists. We must not revalue it further.”

Four arrests in investigations against Islamists in Austria

Meanwhile, the Austrian Office for the Protection of the Constitution arrested four people during investigations against an Islamist network, according to the Ministry of the Interior there. Interviews with the suspects and corresponding evaluations are currently underway, said the Directorate for State Security and Intelligence in the Austrian Ministry of the Interior. For tactical reasons, further details cannot be given at the moment.

“Bild” had previously reported on arrests in Austria. There was also a first arrest in Germany. There was initially no confirmation of this. According to dpa information, security authorities had received information about a possible attack plan by an Islamist group on Cologne Cathedral and a church.

The Interior Ministry in Vienna announced that the security situation in Austria and throughout Europe was tense. That is why the security authorities are taking precautionary measures during the Christmas holidays in the form of increased surveillance and surveillance in public spaces. The police in Vienna had already made a similar statement on Saturday. Security measures have also been increased at Cologne Cathedral.

France also wants to put special guard on churches for Christmas. Police and gendarmes should be visibly deployed in front of religious places to protect Christians during Christmas celebrations on Sunday evening and Monday morning, wrote France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin on the online platform X (formerly Twitter). Darmanin had previously called on prefects to continue to be very vigilant over the holidays. France has been on the highest terror alert level since the fatal attack on a teacher by an Islamist in October.

Since the terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on Israel on October 7th, fears have been increasing that attacks could also occur in Germany.