Munich terror threat remains in place, train stations reopen
BERLIN: Munich train stations reopened and trains were running on New Year’s Day, but a warning about Islamic State extremists intending to blow themselves up in the German city remained in place.
“The information about an imminent terror attack at midnight was very concrete,” police spokeswoman Elisabeth Matzinger said on Friday. “Even though nothing happened, our terror warning stays in place.” Just shortly before the city rang in the New Year, Munich police had evacuated the main train station and a station in the Pasing neighbourhood. Partygoers were asked to avoid crowds.
At a Friday news conference, Bavaria’s interior minister Joachim Herrmann said a friendly foreign intelligence service had warned Germany of an imminent attack at midnight by between five and seven Islamic State militants from Syria and Iraq planning to blow themselves up at locations in Munich, including the two stations.
Authorities were investigating intensively on Friday, Herrmann said, but so far had not made any arrests. He said they had received personal data for some of the attackers and were still in the process of investigating and verifying the information. He would not give any further details on the possible attackers.
Herrmann called on Munich residents to be cautious, but at the same time not to let the warning interfere with their normal lives.
More than 500 police and special unit officers from all over the southern Bavaria region were called to Munich late Friday night to help evacuate and secure the stations. Friday noon, some 100 extra officers were still present in the city.