Four arrested in connection with alleged Islamic terror plot against Germany’s famed Cologne Cathedral

Police have arrested a total of four people in connection with an alleged New Year’s Eve terrorist plot targeting Germany’s 800-year-old Cologne Cathedral using an explosives-packed vehicle.

As revelers gathered to celebrate the end of 2023, about 1,000 police officers were deployed around the cathedral after three men were arrested on Sunday in connection with the alleged plot. A 30-year-old Tajik man linked with the Islamic State was picked up on Christmas Eve when authorities first learned about the plan.

The cathedral was put under high protection and closed to anyone but worshippers after the Christmas Eve service, thwarting the 100,000 tourists who normally visit the site during the week between Christmas and New Year’s. The worshippers allowed in for mass had to be vetted with security checks that included sniffer dogs.

Police said at a news conference Sunday that the underground parking garage of the cathedral had been searched and combed through with explosives-detecting dogs and turned up nothing. The entrance and exit were also monitored for suspicious activity.

The suspects were not identified, but police said they had been picked up in the western German cities of Duisburg, Herne and Dueren. Their apartments were searched and some communications devices seized. Police descended after investigators found evidence late Saturday linking the three men to the one detained last week.

“The three people are now securely in custody, which we are very glad about since they can no longer communicate with each other,” Cologne police director Frank Wissbaum told reporters, according to Reuters.

All four men being held allegedly belong to a widespread “network of individuals” from Central Asia, with members throughout Germany and elsewhere in Europe, Wissbaum said.

Source » nydailynews.com