Germany is increasing security at airports
and railway stations in light of “concrete indications” of terrorist
attacks being planned for the end of November.
Interior
Minister Thomas de Maiziere said it followed a tip-off from another, unnamed
country.
Germany had information on “sustained
efforts” by Islamist extremists to carry out attacks, he said.
He
said the extra security would remain in place “until further notice”.
“There
are grounds for concern, but not for hysteria,” Mr de Maiziere told a news
conference in Berlin.
The
federal police force has been ordered to step up checks at airports and train
stations, he added.
Mr
de Maiziere said Germany had
received a tip-off after two parcel bombs were intercepted en route from Yemen to the United States last month.
One
of the bombs was despatched via the German city of Cologne
but was intercepted in the UK.
The
Yemen
plot showed “the adaptability and the persistence of terrorists in pursuing
their aims,” Mr de Maiziere said, and also underlines “the
reliability of some leads”.
Germany would not allow international
terrorism to constrict its way of life or liberal culture, he said.
Last
year, twelve militants vanished from Hamburg,
some to resurface in Northern Pakistan where
at least one, but not all were killed in an American drone attack.
Some
of the new security measures would be clearly visible, Mr de Maiziere said, but
others would not.
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