Threat of attack against Cologne Carnival: Police want to “sensitize emergency services”

Cologne. Islamists have called for attacks on social networks, including during the Cologne Carnival. Such publications are also aimed at unsettling the population, said the head of operations of the Cologne police for the carnival days, Martin Lotz, to the German Press Agency. However, the operational concept will be adjusted again.

The “Bild” newspaper reported on the call. On a website of the terrorist organization “Islamic State” (IS), a poster with four attack targets can be seen, two of which are in Cologne, one in Nuremberg and one in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam.

A police spokeswoman in Nuremberg said: "We have no knowledge of any concrete plans for attacks or any concrete threat. This does not change our previous plans."

Security circles said that the calls were known and were being taken seriously. This is consistent with the current risk assessment, according to which there is an abstractly high risk, they said. Such calls for violent acts via IS propaganda channels are nothing new.

Cologne operations manager Lotz said: "We will sensitize the emergency services again based on the post and keep them informed on an ongoing basis." Due to the tense security situation, the police are prepared for such developments.

Last week, the Cologne police announced that they were preparing for the carnival days with a strict security plan following the attack in Munich and other violent acts in Germany. "The security situation following the acts of radicalized individuals is more tense than in previous years," said Lotz. Although there are no concrete indications of plans for attacks, they are all the more required to be prepared for anything.

On Carnival days, the Cologne police plan to deploy around 1,500 more officers than on normal days. The street carnival begins this Thursday with Women's Carnival.

RND/dpa