ISIS Behind Munich Terror Threat That Closed Train Stations, Officials Say

“The Federal Criminal Police Office informed the Bavarian police on New Year’s Eve of the existence of a tip-off from a friendly intelligence agency that Islamic State plans a concrete attack, attacks tonight (Thursday), at midnight at the Munich central station or/and Pasing (station)”, Herrmann said.

Twenty-fours after the alert the minister said the level of threat is high and will not decrease in the future. The Munich police president said that there had been no arrests at the current moment.

Security forces in many European capitals have been on raised alert after a year of militant attacks, including an attack on Paris in November that killed 130.

Residents were told to avoid the Hauptbahnhof and Pasing train stations, which the authorities evacuated and closed indefinitely.

In Russia, the state-run news agency RIA Novosti said that about 500 people had been evacuated from two train stations in Moscow after the police were told that bombs had been planted.

Regional broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk said the suspects were seven Iraqis living in Munich who were allegedly planning to work in pairs and blow themselves up at the two stations as well in other parts of the city.

The first warning of a possible New Year’s Eve attack in Munich came from U.S. intelligence several days ago, according to German press reports, but the decision to act was only made after the more detailed tip-off from the French authorities on December 31.

“We received names. We can’t say if they are in Munich or in fact in Germany”, Andrä said.

Munich police said they were continuing “to work intensively and with increased personnel on clearing up the situation and investigating potential perpetrators”. By Friday noon, some 100 extra officers were still present in the city.

The information police received referenced five to seven possible attackers and included personal information for some of them.

Ahead of the celebrations, Belgian police carried out several raids in Brussels and the eastern city of Liege in connection with the alleged plot, with five people still in custody on Friday morning.

Following last night’s terror warning for Munich, PEGIDA chairman Lutz Bachmann took to Twitter telling those who had welcomed refugees with applause at Munich’s main station to immediately convene there, leading to widespread outrage and indignation across social media. Thanks for staying calm and for your understanding concerning our measures’.

In New York, about 1 million people crammed into the Crossroads of the World, brushing off security jitters to watch the glittering crystal ball drop in Times Square, marking the start of 2016.