Police - Home Office sees no change in the risk situation
Following indications of a possible attack plan by an Islamist group in Cologne and Vienna, the security authorities in Berlin are also vigilant. "The threat assessments are constantly being reviewed and security measures are being flexibly and individually adapted where necessary," said a spokeswoman for the Berlin Interior Administration on Sunday in response to a dpa inquiry.
Currently, the risk assessments of the State Office of Criminal Investigation and the Federal Criminal Police Office regarding the Middle East conflict remain unchanged. "There is still an abstractly high risk situation." Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) explained: "The security authorities are in close contact at national and international level."
On Saturday, the police increased security measures at Cologne Cathedral due to indications of a possible attack plan by an Islamist group that may have links to an offshoot of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist network. Police officers searched the cathedral on Saturday evening. According to dpa information from security circles, explosives sniffer dogs found nothing. The police also announced that they would be checking all visitors on Christmas Eve. According to dpa information, the security authorities also had indications that a church in Vienna was also a possible target of the group.
On December 14, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office had four suspected members of the Islamist Hamas arrested in Berlin and Rotterdam in the Netherlands. They are said to have been looking for weapons that were to be kept ready for possible attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe. According to security circles, there is no concrete knowledge of plans for attacks with a connection to Berlin. The threat situation with regard to Jewish or Israeli persons and institutions in Berlin has not increased as a result. This also applies to the security situation during the upcoming holidays.
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- The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) in Germany is closely monitoring the situation, given the unchanged risk assessments related to the Middle East conflict.
- Iris Spranger, the Interior Senator in Berlin, emphasized the importance of close collaboration between security authorities in addressing the abstractly high risk situation.
- The LKA (State Office of Criminal Investigation) in North Rhine-Westphalia is working diligently to evaluate indications of a potential attack on a church in Cologne.
- The police in Vienna also increased security measures at their churches due to similar warnings and potential links to an Islamist group.
- On Sunday, the LKA spokeswoman confirmed the continuity of threat assessments, stressing the need for adaptive and individual security measures.
- Following the arrest of suspected Hamas members in Berlin and Rotterdam, the police are searching for any connections to potential attack plans in the region.
- A terrorism expert in Vienna pointed out that the Middle East conflict has created an environment conducive to radicalization and possible threats to European churches.
- In response to the ongoing tensions and risk situations, many European churches are re-evaluating their security protocols and emergency plans.
Source: www.stern.de
