Since the Christmas weekend, the police in Cologne, Germany, have had extra security around the cathedral in the city. This after receiving information about a planned attack on New Year’s Eve.
Those arrested have connections to a 30-year-old man who was arrested on Christmas Eve, the same day that three other people were arrested on suspicion of the same crime.
On Sunday, three more people were arrested on suspicion of having planned a terrorist attack against the cathedral. German media reports that heavily armed police are guarding the area.
Tens of thousands of police in France
France is also preparing for a different New Year’s celebration. 90,000 police officers have been called in around the country to deal with the threat level. In Paris, thousands of police are to guard large areas where people gather to celebrate the new year.
On the Champs-Élysées, one and a half million people are expected to gather during the evening.
– I have ordered a reinforcement of the police against the backdrop of a strong terrorist threat, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has previously said.
According to him, an increased level of terror is due, among other things, to the war between Israel and Hamas.
TV4 Nyheterna has spoken to terror researcher Hans Brun, who says that the risk of attacks in large crowds is at an elevated level.
– There will be a lot of people out on the streets around the world to celebrate. It is a grateful goal for this type of perpetrator, he says.