Police in Munich warn of 'imminent threat' of attack

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Police in Munich warn of 'imminent threat' of attack

KIRSTEN GRIESHABER, Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Police in Munich warned of a "serious, imminent threat" by Islamic State group suicide bombers wanting to commit an attack on New Year's Eve and asked people to stay away from the city's main train station and a second train station in the city's Pasing neighborhood.

Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told reporters Friday night at Munich's police headquarters authorities had received information that the militant group Islamic State was behind the threat.

Munich police president Hubertus Andrae said German authorities had been tipped off by a foreign intelligence service that IS was planning attacks with five to seven suicide bombers, the German news agency dpa reported. Andrae said so far there hadn't been any arrests.

Police spokesman Werner Kraus told The Associated Press that "after evaluating the situation, we started evacuating the train stations and also asked partygoers to stay away from big crowds outside."

The warning came only hours before the city rang in the new year.

Despite police warnings to stay away from big crowds, thousands of people were on the streets of Munich at midnight to welcome the new year with fireworks.

Dpa reported massive delays in the city's public transportation system after both train stations were quickly evacuated and trains were no longer stopped there.

Cities across Europe have been on edge since a terror attack in Paris in November killed 130 people.

A few days after the Paris attack, a soccer stadium in Hannover in central Germany was evacuated after a terror threat against a friendly match between Germany and the Netherlands. The authorities never reported any findings of explosives or concrete attack plans.

-- (c) Associated Press 2016-01-01

[jaidam]

Sorry to hear this. Nobody could have foreseen such an event happening after Germanys recent humanitarian show.

[amerasianex]

The Herman PM should be impeached and criminal charges filed for putting the German people in danger with unvetted refugees

[trogers]

Sorry to hear this. Nobody could have foreseen such an event happening after Germanys recent humanitarian show.

Those with an ounce of brain matter would have foresaw...

[daveAustin]

You can expect a LOT more of this, Merkel!

[Jingthing]

Daesh will go after European targets whether refugees are welcomed or not. Blaming Merkel for this is daft.

[connda]

Banging the 'Drums of Fear' to scare the sheep citizens. Order out of Chaos. Keep the sheep citizens amped up with a constant litany of fear-monger. Study history. Germany's been down this path before in the not too distant past. Same playbook, different boogeymen.

Edited January 2, 2016 by connda

[beano2274]

the threat was before new year, this story was added on new years day, the day the Police downgraded the threat.

A bit of research before posting would be beneficial, seems numbers of posts is more important than facts.

Edited January 2, 2016 by beano2274

[bangon04]

"Police spokesman Werner Kraus told The Associated Press that "after evaluating the situation, we started evacuating the train stations and also asked partygoers to stay away from big crowds outside."

but the spokesman has a strong German accent, so what he said sounded like

"stay avay from big Krauts"

[bendejo]

Daesh is against all this refugee stuff, they think these people should have stayed in their countries and live under the glorious leadership that god instructs Daesh to provide. The refugees are traitors and god wants them to be killed. If they had the capability they would be sinking the refugee boats, as a message to others who may try to escape them.

Well, time for lunch, god wants me to have bacon and eggs today.

Edited January 3, 2016 by bendejo