...the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth populated city in Germany....said the perpetrators may have planned to use a car as a weapon for the alleged terror plot. Security measures around the Cologne Cathedral have been tightened ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations.
Police in Germany's western state of North-Rhine Westphalia arrested three more people on Sunday over an alleged plot to attack the historic cathedral in Cologne. One person was previously detained on Christmas Eve.
Cologne police chief Johannes Hermanns told a news conference that they believed the perpetrators planned to strike on New Year's Eve and that the "alleged means of attack" was a vehicle.
The arrests were made in the cities of Duisburg, Herne and Nörvenich, near Duren, he added.
Police said several apartments were also searched.
Four people have been arrested in total over the alleged plot, which police said was planned by an Islamist terrorist group.
TIP-OFF LED TO CHRISTMAS EVE ARREST
On Christmas Eve, a 30-year-old Tajik national
...the unnamed miscreant was reportedly a member of Islamic State in Khorasan Province, based in Afghanistan...
was held in the city of Wesel, some 100 kilometers north of Cologne. He was suspected of having visited the cathedral possibly to plan an attack.Hermanns said the first suspect was part of a larger network that extended to other German states and European countries.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul told the media briefing that the police operation had been a "success." He added that Islamist hard boyz are currently more active than usual and that "the police always try to be a few steps ahead."
COLOGNE, OTHER CITIES STEP UP SECURITY
Cologne police said they were deploying around 1,000 officers on New Year's Eve to ensure the festivities pass off peacefully. Previously, authorities have warned that officers could carry submachine guns around the city on Sunday night.
The underground car park at Cologne Cathedral was searched Sunday and nothing was found, they said.
Despite the tensions, the Cathedral held its New Year's Eve service on Sunday night as normal.
Other German cities also heightened security, including the capital Berlin. Police there said they were keen to avoid a repeat of last year's violence when some revelers attacked emergency services personnel with fireworks.
| The Times of Israel confirmed: |
The Tajik was detained by German police on the same day, as Austria announced the arrests of another three suspects in Vienna. Bild Daily had reported then that the four suspects were all Tajiks who allegedly wanted to carry out attacks for Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), an ISIS offshoot in Afghanistan.
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