30-year-old arrested after terror alarm at Cologne Cathedral
Security measures around Cologne Cathedral remain high following the terror alert. The police have now reported five arrests in Wesel. Four men are at large again - but one man remains in custody "to avert danger".
Police have taken a suspect into custody in Wesel in connection with the terror alert for Cologne Cathedral. Police searched an apartment in the town on the Lower Rhine with special units on Christmas Eve and took five men into custody.
While four of them were released, the police took a 30-year-old Tajik into custody "to avert danger". According to the police, there was information about him that was relevant to state security. On Christmas Day, the Oberhausen district court confirmed the detention order until January 7 at the request of the Cologne police.
CID chief Michael Esser said: "We are exhausting all legal possibilities to protect the people, the cathedral and the upcoming New Year's Eve celebrations." The police will not provide any information on the background to the detention until further notice due to ongoing investigations. The media reported on possible Islamist attack plans. According to these reports, the trail leads to an offshoot of the Islamic State (IS). The Federal Public Prosecutor General's Office did not wish to comment further on the events when asked.
Arrests also in Austria
According to dpa, the security authorities had received information about a possible plan by an Islamist group to attack Cologne Cathedral and a church in Vienna. According to the Cologne police, the information related to New Year's Eve. As a result, the Christmas masses took place under tightened security measures. Visitors had to undergo checks at the entrance. The church, which is normally visited by many tourists, was closed between masses. The strict security measures imposed on Cologne Cathedral following a danger warning have now been extended until New Year.
According to the Austrian news agency APA, several arrests were made in Vienna during an operation against an Islamist network. Three suspects were subsequently remanded in custody. According to APA, the two men and one woman were arrested by special police forces in a refugee shelter in Vienna.
They are accused of belonging to a radical Islamic terror network that is said to have planned attacks on Cologne Cathedral and St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. All three reportedly denied the allegations. According to the public prosecutor's office, they are being investigated for membership of a terrorist organization in connection with terrorist offences.
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The terror alert at Cologne Cathedral has prompted international concern, as Austria also reported arrests linked to potential Islamist attack plans on the cathedral and a church in Vienna. The 30-year-old Tajik remains in custody in Germany to avert any potential terror threat, following his arrest in connection with the Cologne investigation.
Source: www.ntv.de
