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German police said they had tightened security around Cologne Cathedral, a week after the Interior Minister warned of the “increasing threat of violence” from what he described as “extremists.”
The police explained in a statement yesterday, Saturday, that they would use tracking dogs to search the cathedral after the evening mass and then close it. And today, Sunday evening Christmaswill conduct a security check for all visitors whom you have recommended to arrive to Mass early.
The police said that they could not provide details, indicating that investigations were continuing.
The German newspaper Bild reported earlier that the security authorities in Austria, Germany and Spain had received indications that an “Islamic group” wanted to carry out attacks during Christmas and New Year’s celebrations.
The Austrian police said in a statement that they had tightened security measures at churches and Christmas markets in light of the heightened state of alert.
Warning of great danger
“Given that terrorist actors across Europe call for attacks during Christian occasions, especially around December 24, the security authorities have taken appropriate protective measures in public places,” the police said.
European Union Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson warned early this month that Europe faces a great risk of what the commissioner described as “terrorist attacks” during the Christmas holiday due to the repercussions of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
This warning came in the wake of a Frenchman stabbing a German-Filipino tourist to death, and wounding two other people with a hammer near the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
