Terror suspects probably spied on Cologne funfair
Undercover investigators follow the heels of a group at the Deutz funfair during the Easter holidays. The men, who go on the rides and take photos, are believed to be IS supporters. The police believe that they were scouting the funfair as a possible attack site. There is also said to be a connection to the recent terror warning at the cathedral.
According to a report, three terror suspects arrested in North Rhine-Westphalia last July scouted out the Deutz funfair in Cologne as a possible target for an attack. This is according to notes from the Federal Criminal Police Office, which the "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger" was able to view. According to the report, the supporters of the jihadist militia Islamic State (IS) tested numerous rides and photographed the surrounding area.
The men, who come from Central Asia, were shadowed by undercover investigators from the Cologne police on Easter Monday 2023 while visiting the funfair, the newspaper continued. According to the report, the federal prosecutor's office and the Dutch judiciary had the group of nine people, who are affiliated with IS in the Afghan province of Khorasan (ISPK), arrested in North Rhine-Westphalia and the Netherlands on July 6, 2023.
According to the newspaper, investigators are convinced that the suspects visited the Cologne public festival "to clarify whether it was a suitable location for an attack". The group was also in contact with the men who were allegedly involved in plans to attack Cologne Cathedral on New Year's Eve. Five suspects were therefore arrested at the end of December. Two of them are still in custody by court order. The other three have been released.
The security forces in Cologne have been on alert since Christmas due to the terror and attack warning. The authorities had previously received information that Islamists were planning to carry out an attack in the vicinity of the cathedral on New Year's Eve. The police searched the cathedral with sniffer dogs on the day before Christmas Eve. No explosives were found. Christmas masses took place in the following days under tightened security measures. Around 1000 police officers were also deployed around the cathedral at the turn of the year. Tighter security measures are still in place. For example, unlike usual, carnivalists are not allowed to carry sabres at today's service to kick off the carnival season.
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- The arrests in July of a group affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) in Islamic Extremism in North Rhine-Westphalia revealed their interest in scouting potential attack sites, such as the Deutz funfair in Cologne.
- The BKA (Federal Criminal Police Office) report indicates that the men, from Central Asia, visited the Cologne funfair to assess it as a potential target for an attack, linking their activities to the terror threat at the city's cathedral.
- The undercover police operation in Cologne on Easter Monday 2023, which targeted the thed group, stemmed from the intelligence gathered about the possible North Rhine-Westphalia terror threat from IS supporters.
- Security measures in Cologne have continued to increase in response to the Islamist terror threat, with restrictions on carnival celebrations and tightened security around the cathedral, highlighting the ongoing concern for the safety of the public due to the extremist activities.
Source: www.ntv.de
