Cologne Cathedral terror alert: Police arrest more suspects

After the terrorist alarm for Cologne Cathedral, the police arrested three more suspects on Sunday. The attacks took place in Duisburg, Herne and in Nörvenich in the Düren district. Apartments there were also searched, Cologne police chief Johannes Hermanns said at a press conference on Sunday evening. The attack was supposed to have been carried out with a car.

Shortly before Christmas, the police received information about a possible Islamist attack plan on Cologne Cathedral, which was related to New Year’s Eve. A 30-year-old Tajik was then taken into custody in Wesel on Christmas Eve “to avert danger” when special forces searched an apartment. He is suspected of spying on the cathedral. It turned out that the Tajik was part of a larger network that also extends to other federal states and other European countries, Hermanns now explained.

Police search underground car park under Cologne Cathedral

With a view to the latest detentions, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) spoke of a “success”. Islamist extremists are currently more active than usual. “The police are always trying to be a few steps ahead.” The approximately 1,000 police officers who are deployed around the cathedral on New Year’s Eve are doing everything they can to ensure the safety of those celebrating. Operations manager Frank Wißbaum said that the underground car park under the cathedral was also searched and explosives detection dogs were used. But nothing was found. The entrance and exit to the underground car park has also been checked since early morning.

Reul told the German Press Agency that it was not surprising that such an outstanding Christian building as Cologne Cathedral was becoming the focus of Islamist terrorists. “That didn’t surprise anyone.” There is always an abstract risk of attack. “Islamist terror is still a danger on German streets,” warned Reul. “We’ve often suppressed that. And whenever there’s a one-off event like that, we’re all very electrified.” But it would be wrong to panic, says Reul. “I say: celebrate! Behave yourself! Pay attention – and enjoy the transition into the new year!”

Massive police presence protects New Year’s Eve fair

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki celebrated the well-attended New Year’s Eve mass in the cathedral on Sunday evening under heavy police protection. “I would like to thank our security forces, who began protecting this cathedral in the days before Christmas and also protecting us so that we can celebrate church services and the fundamental right to freely practice religion continues to be guaranteed in our country,” said Woelki Start of the fair. The worship participants first had to go through a security gate in tents that were set up in front of the main portal.

On Friday, the police announced strict protective measures for the cathedral and the surrounding area for New Year’s Eve, including the use of police officers with submachine guns. Security precautions had already been increased for the Christmas celebrations. The cathedral was initially closed to tourists; only church services took place.

In addition to the tip-off about the possible attack plan in Cologne, the security authorities had also received a tip-off before Christmas about a possible planned attack on a church in Vienna. In Vienna, too, the police increased security measures at Christmas. The Austrian Office for the Protection of the Constitution arrested four people on December 23rd. Two men and a woman were ordered to be remanded in custody over the Christmas period. She is being investigated for belonging to a terrorist organization in connection with terrorist crimes, it was said a few days ago.