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These arrests came on Sunday following another arrest for the same reason in Germany just before Christmas.
Published on December 31, 2023 6:57 p.m
Reading time: 1 min
The area around Cologne Cathedral (Germany) is heavily guarded by police armed with machine guns, December 31, 2023. (THOMAS BANNEYER / DPA / AFP)
German police announced on Sunday, December 31, the arrest of three suspected Islamists suspected of planning an attack on Cologne Cathedral with “a car” on New Year's Eve. These arrests followed another arrest for the same reason in Germany just before Christmas. The suspects are part of “Islamist groups,” said State Interior Minister Herbert Reul at a press conference.
A Cologne police officer, Frank Wissbaum, spoke of a “network of people from Central Asia”. According to the authorities, it was a car that was supposed to be used “for the alleged attack plan,” although they did not know exactly how it was to be carried out. The underground car park of Cologne Cathedral was examined with explosives detection dogs, but nothing suspicious was found. Police also stepped up security measures around the religious building for New Year's Eve.
The arrest of a Tajik man near Cologne shortly before Christmas who was suspected of wanting to attack the cathedral led investigators to arrest additional members of this suspected Islamist network. At the same time, the Austrian police also announced the arrest of three suspects in Vienna. According to German media, the suspected members of this network are Tajiks who act on behalf of the Islamic State-Khorasan (EI-K), a regional branch of IS that is particularly active in Afghanistan. This network planned to attack religious buildings during the year-end holidays.
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