The alarm came as Europe entered the New Year under a state of heightened alert, seven weeks after Islamist militants killed 130 people in shootings and suicide blasts across Paris. (Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images) MUNICH, GERMANY – JANUARY 01: Riot police armed with machine guns controls the street in front of Pasing railway station on January 1, 2016 in Munich, Germany.
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Police evacuated the two train stations over an hour before New Year celebrations began in Munich.
Munich, the third largest city in Germany, was forced to call in troops during the peak of the migrant crisis earlier this year to “support efforts to care for refugees”.
German Interior Minister Thomas De Maiziere says the hunt is on after getting a tip about a possible suicide bombing on the city’s metro system. By Friday morning, the stations were reopened, Munich police said, but warned the public to remain vigilant. “The inquiries go on of course and we will remain watchful”, the spokesperson said, reiterating the law enforcers would issue warnings if they could not completely exclude a danger for the population.
Germany had been tipped off by both United States and French authorities, it said. “Thanks for staying calm and for your understanding concerning our measures”.
In New York City, where one million people were expected to gather in Times Square to watch the traditional ball drop ceremony, thousands of police officers were deployed, including hundreds who are part of a new anti-terror force.
Authorities were investigating intensively on Friday, Herrmann said, but so far had not found any solid evidence for a planned attack.
The police presence at train stations in Munich has been reduced and there are no concrete indications that a militant attack could take place in the coming hours or days, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said on Friday.
Police said they received information from French and U.S. intelligence services about a “very concrete” threat that forced them to close Munich’s main station and Pasing station on Thursday (Dec. 31). Ten people suspected of involvement in the Paris attacks have been arrested in Belgium.
Police officers in Germany ahead of New Year celebrations. ‘But this year, because of the danger of ISIS (Islamic State), I will spend New Year’s Eve in my home’. That tip, too, had included the names of several suspects.
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The authorities in Brussels called off all official events after three people were detained on Thursday in connection with an alleged New Year’s Eve plot.
