01 January 2016•Update: 04 January 2016
BERLIN
Police in Munich, Germany, have issued a terror alert and briefly evacuated two train stations on New Year’s Eve, after receiving intelligence of imminent suicide attacks planned by Daesh terrorists.
The interior minister of the state of Bavaria, Joachim Herrmann, said at a press conference on Thursday night that the authorities were tipped off by a foreign intelligence service which warned of a potentially imminent attack by Daesh members targeting Munich’s central train station and Pasing train station at midnight.
“This is of course not a 100 percent sure information but it is something that we have to take very serious, something that we cannot ignore. It is the right step to take necessary measures without delay,” he said.
Munich police chief Hubertus Andrae said the intelligence they received mentioned potential attacks involving five to seven individuals. He also added that there had been no arrests and that he could not reveal more specific details.
As a precaution, Munich’s central train station and Pasing train station were evacuated at 10.30 p.m. local time (2130GMT) and heavily armed police units were deployed at both stations during the night.
The suspended train services returned to normal in the early hours of Friday, but the heavy police presence remained across the city.
Regional public television Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) reported that the intelligence concerning possible Daesh attacks in Munich first came from U.S. authorities on Thursday night and soon after French intelligence service conveyed similar information to their German counterparts.
The intelligence also included the names of the suspects, seven Iraqi citizens who are residing in Bavaria, the report has claimed.
