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Cologne Cathedral attack: Austria issues warrant for suspect

January 7, 2024

Austrian authorities want to speak to a man being held in connection with a year-end terrorist plot targeting Cologne Cathedral.

https://p.dw.com/p/4ax7g
A police vehicle by the Cologne Cathedral, as officials remain on alert over a potential threat to it
Cologne police officials have been on high alert after receiving a tip about a possible threat to the iconic cathedralImage: Christoph Hardt/Panama Pictures/picture alliance

Austrian authorities have issued a European arrest warrant for a suspect detained in Germany over an alleged plot to attack the historic cathedral in Cologne, German police said on Sunday.

On Christmas Eve, a 30-year-old Tajik national was held in the city of Wesel, some 100 kilometers north of Cologne.

Deportation proceedings against him were underway and a court in Cologne had issued a custody order, police said.  

The European Arrest Warrant, a simplified cross-border judicial surrender procedure, is applicable in all member states of the European Union.

Arrests in Austria

German and Austrian authorities have said radical Islamists could be planning attacks around Christmas or New Year.

Austrian police arrested suspects around Christmas and stepped up security near Vienna's St Stephen's cathedral. 

German police remained on high alert throughout the holiday period, detaining five people before Christmas in connection with the possible attack plot.

Four of them were released, but a Tajik national remained in custody. 

All of the suspects were allegedly affiliated with IS-Khorasan, an offshoot of the so-called "Islamic State" group in Afghanistan.

Police were unable to say on Sunday when the security measures around Cologne Cathedral would be eased.

rm/lo (dpa, KNA)