Three arrested for suspected Islamist attack on Cologne Cathedral

Construction of the cathedral began in 1248.

Published: January 1, 2024 5:34pm

German authorities announced Sunday that three people have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to use a car bomb to destroy the Cologne Cathedral.

No further information about the identities of the suspects were made public.

The arrests come after a 30-year-old Tajik national was taken into custody on Dec. 24 for suspicion of being part of the plot. The attack on the 800-year-old church was reportedly planned to take place on New Year’s Eve.

According to Cologne Police Chief Johannes Hermanns, all four individuals were members of a European-wide, Islamic State network from Central Asia.

Hermanns also told reporters ahead of New Year's celebrations that roughly 1,000 police officers would be deployed for the to, “protect the cathedral and the population in Cologne city center.”

Germany has been on a high state of alert since the Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel by Hamas terrorists. Many in the nation’s growing Muslim population have expressed support for the Gaza based organization’s massacre of Israeli civilians, and the subsequent war that followed.

On Saturday, police in Berlin banned a pro-Palestinian rally scheduled for New Year’s Eve, as many similar demonstrations have advocated for the destruction of Israel and violence against Jewish persons.

The post 3 Arrested for Suspected Islamist Attack on Cologne Cathedral first appeared on The Foreign Desk | by Lisa Daftari.