Police in the southern German city of Munich say they are looking for “five to seven” suspects following an alert that temporarily shut down two of the city’s railway stations on New Year’s Eve.
Police said they received information from French and US intelligence services about a “very concrete” threat that forced them to close Munich’s main station and Pasing station on Thursday (Dec. 31). Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann defended the temporary closures, saying they were necessary as the intelligence service had received a “specific” warning of a threat from Isil bombers, according to the BBC.
No arrests have been made, and German officials have since said there is no sign of any imminent attack—although police continue to be out in force in Munich itself.
On Friday (Jan. 1), Munich police president Hubertus Andrae said investigators were checking names of suspects—thought to be Iraqi and Syrian—that they had received against a police database. However, further details were sparse. “We don’t know whether these names are right, whether these people exist, and where they are if they do,” Andrae told reporters.
Andrae has urged the city’s residents to “carry on living as you did previously”.
Cities around the world have been on heightened alert for threats to public safety during New Year’s celebrations. On Wednesday (Dec. 30), Belgium announced its annual New Year’s Eve fireworks display in Brussels would be canceled due to a terror alert.