German officers detain a fifth suspect in reference to a menace to assault Cologne Cathedral
BERLIN — German authorities stated Monday they detained one other suspect in reference to an alleged menace of an assault on the world-famous Cologne Cathedral over the vacations, bringing the general variety of individuals detained in reference to the alleged plot to 5.
The newest suspect, a 41-year-old German-Turkish man, was detained Sunday night time within the western metropolis of Bochum within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Police detained three individuals on Sunday morning and one man final week. All of the detained suspects allegedly belong to a bigger Islamic extremist community that included individuals throughout Germany and in different European international locations, in line with Cologne police chief Johannes Hermanns, German information company dpa reported.
The different 4 suspects had been detained in several cities throughout North Rhine-Westphalia. The one who was detained final week was recognized as a 30-year-old Tajik man. No particulars got for the three who had been detained Sunday morning.
The assault was speculated to have been carried out on New Year’s Eve with a automobile loaded with explosives, native media reported.
Cologne police stated in a Sunday information convention that the cathedral’s underground parking storage had been searched and that explosives detection canine had been deployed, however nothing was discovered. The entrance and exit of the underground storage had additionally been checked for suspicious exercise.
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul on Sunday known as the most recent detentions a “success, for which I would like to thank the investigators.”
Islamic extremists have all the time been energetic, however they’re at present extra energetic than normal and the Catholic cathedral was a main goal for them, Reul stated, in line with dpa. “The police always try to be a few steps ahead,” he added.
Police had acquired details about a deliberate militant assault on Cologne Cathedral shortly earlier than Christmas.
The metropolis’s world-famous cathedral has been below excessive safety for every week and the menace led to the closure of the home of worship for vacationers since Christmas Eve.
