German media reports said on December 23 that the Islamist terrorist cell had planned terrorist attacks in Germany and Austria. Several arrests were reportedly made.
German newspaper Bild reported that authorities in Germany and Austria have received indications that an Islamist group was plotting attacks in Europe, with targets possibly including Christmas masses in Cologne and Vienna.
German police have reportedly searched a cathedral in the western city of Cologne amid warnings of a possible attack planned for New Year’s Eve.
Cologne police chief Michael Esser reportedly said on December 23 that Cologne Cathedral would be closed and sniffer dogs would be brought in to search the building after the evening mass service.
But the dog handlers reportedly found nothing.
Visitors on Sunday had to undergo security checks before entering the cathedral.
Bild, citing its sources, noted that the detainees are from Tajikistan, and according to the preliminary data, “they wanted to commit the terrorist act for the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (IS–K).”
According to the newspaper, one of those detained in Germany is native of Tajikistan, and he had long been known to the authorities as an extremist.
Other details of the detainees are not reported.
The Cologne Cathedral is one of Germany’s most popular tourist attractions, attracting more than six million visitors each year.
Austrian police reportedly said in a statement they were boosting security for churches and Christmas markets due to the heightened state of alert.
Given that terrorist actors throughout Europe are calling for attacks on Christian events, especially around December 24, the security authorities have taken the corresponding protection measures in public spaces,” the police said in a statement, according to TASS.
Kurier newspaper says the terrorists could plan attack on St. Stephen's Cathedral, which is the most important religious building in Vienna.
Meanwhile, some media outlets, citing the Austrian interior ministry, say Austrian authorities “intervening in an Islamist network” made four arrests on December 23. A ministry spokesman reportedly said three of the four had been detained pending further investigations.
“There was no immediate threat of an attack in Vienna,” he said, declining to comment further.
Recall, nine Central Asians, including six nationals of Tajikistan, were arrested in Germany and the Netherlands in early July this year for allegedly collecting money for the Islamic State group and planning attacks.
Seven men, including five citizens of Tajikistan, arrested in Germany were accused of founding a “domestic terrorist group” and of supporting IS. All had reportedly known each other for a long time, had radical Islamic views and came to Germany more or less simultaneously from Ukraine shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion last year. According to German prosecutors, the group was in contact with members of IS-K.
Its members had checked out possible targets in Germany and attempted to procure weapons, but “there was no concrete plan for an attack at the time of today's arrest," prosecutors said in a statement.
In the Netherlands, the public prosecution service said a 29-year-old Tajik man and his 31-year-old Kyrgyz wife, who had lived in the country since last year, were arrested on suspicion of “committing preparatory acts for terrorism offences.” The man is also suspected of membership of IS.
