Police - Checks at Cologne Cathedral on Christmas Eve without incident
Following indications of possible plans to attack Cologne Cathedral, there were no incidents during the checks of visitors to the midnight mass on Christmas Eve. A police spokeswoman said on Monday morning that the extensive checks of people in the cathedral had been inconspicuous. The area around the cathedral, where the police had increased their presence, had also remained calm.
Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne thanked those attending the service right at the beginning for "not allowing themselves to be frightened and scared despite the situation, but for coming here courageously". He expressed his special thanks to the police forces "who have turned the cathedral upside down, so to speak, so that we can celebrate the service and Christmas here tonight in complete safety". Woelki also thanked the cathedral saints and the employees of the security services.
According to dpa, the security authorities had received information about a possible plan by an Islamist group to attack the cathedral and a church in Vienna. According to the Cologne police, the information related to New Year's Eve. In view of the festive season, North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) had encouraged people not to be deterred from attending church because the protection provided by the authorities was working.
The police had also taken additional security precautions in Vienna. The Christmas masses there on Christmas Eve went off without incident. In Austria, four people were arrested during investigations into an Islamist network. According to the public prosecutor's office, three were investigated for membership of a terrorist organization in connection with terrorist crimes. A fourth man was also arrested during the police operation. He was wanted for other offenses. According to the public prosecutor's office, it was still being investigated whether he had anything to do with the planned crimes.
Christmas mass in Cologne Cathedral
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Source: www.stern.de
