German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser promised on Sunday a decisive response to any extremist threat over the holidays.
“We all love our Christmas traditions and will not allow ourselves to be intimidated or restricted in our lifestyle,” she told the Funke media group after a warning that a group may be planning an attack on Cologne Cathedral.
The minister said that German authorities “take the threat of Islamist terror very seriously and are extremely vigilant.”
“Our security authorities have the Islamist scene in their sights and are acting decisively, as the current measures show,” she said.
Cologne cathedral
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On Saturday, the German mainstream newspaper Bild reported that police in Germany, Austria and Spain had received information that an Islamist group was planning attacks in all three countries.
Police in Austria and Germany question suspects
German authorities questioned a suspect in the southwestern state of Saarland in connection with the warning they received, public broadcaster ARD reported on Sunday.
The suspect is connected to the Islamist group that threatened to attack the cathedral and has been known to the authorities for a long time, ARD reported.
In Austria, police have reportedly arrested four people who are said to have ties to an Islamist network. They were also questioned.
No further information about the suspect or the Islamist group has been confirmed at this time.
Increased security at Cologne Cathedral
The police have increased security precautions at Cologne Cathedral and deployed sniffer dogs to search the cathedral grounds on Saturday due to the terror warning they received.
Churchgoers will be searched before the service, while the doors will be closed to tourists at this time.
The Cologne cathedral provost Guido Assmann asked those attending the service to understand and said that controls were necessary.
“I am convinced that we will overcome this challenge with the typical Cologne composure and Christmas anticipation and celebrate the birth of the Lord in the usual festive manner,” said Assmann. He advised people to come to mass earlier than usual and without big bags.
rm/dj (KNA, AFP)