Police search for suspects after New Year’s Eve terror alert in Munich

German special police stand in front of the Munich, southern Germany, main train station Thursday evening, December 31, 2015 after police warned of “imminent threat” of terror attack and ordered two train stations to be cleared.

Andrae said so far there hadn’t been any arrests.

Police said they received a tip from French intelligence with “specific” warnings that included five to seven Islamic State suicide bombers. Munich police refused to confirm the nationalities of the suspects or where they lived.

Both stations have been evacuated, they said, and train services were no longer running at the two stations.

Police, including some in riot gear, were stationed overnight at the entrances to the station. Party-goers were asked to avoid crowds.

“There are no new (security) alerts for the next hours and days”, he added.

Rolf Tophoven, the director of the Essen-based Institute for Terrorism Research and Security Policy (Iftus), said the authorities had had no choice but to act on the intelligence, particularly as the tipoff had apparently been detailed enough to include the number of attackers as well as the time and place of the attacks.

Authorities on Wednesday called off the usual New Year’s Eve fireworks display in the capital, citing fears of a possible militant attack.

Just 90 minutes before the New Year, police evacuated Munich’s main rail station and one other terminus in the west of the city.

‘I believe this decision was right because I think we can not take unnecessary risks when we are dealing with such concrete threats, concrete locations, and a concrete time, ‘ Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said today.

However, not even terrorist threats could keep Europeans from ringing in the new year – though every capital city was saturated with security, especially Paris – where terrorists struck twice this past year.

Police officers in Germany ahead of New Year celebrations.

He warned, however, that the overall terror threat in Europe remained high.

No explosives were subsequently found, and no arrests made after the Germany-Netherlands friendly in Hanover – which was to be attended by Chancellor Angela Merkel – was cancelled and thousands of fans evacuated.

“The information about an imminent terror attack at midnight was very concrete”, police spokeswoman Elisabeth Matzinger told The Associated Press on Friday.

Europe has been on edge since the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris that killed at least 130 people.

Belgian police said late on Thursday three people were being held for questioning as part of an investigation into an alleged plot.

Meanwhile, Munich police also thanked the public for “staying calm” in a series of tweets in both English and German.