German police heighten security at Cologne Cathedral amid attack threats

German Police carried out searches at a cathedral in the western city of Cologne amid warnings of a possible attack on New Year’s Eve, the news channel reported.
Cologne police chief Michael Esser said the Cologne cathedral would be closed and sniffer dogs would be brought in to search the building after the evening mass service.
“Even though the information relates to New Year’s Eve, we are from this evening doing everything we can to ensure the safety of visitors of the cathedral on Christmas Eve,” Esser said in a statement.
Visitors will have to undergo thorough security checks before entering the cathedral on Sunday, the news channel reported.
According to the German newspaper Bild, the authorities in Germany, Austria and Spain have all received intelligence inputs of an Islamist group plotting attacks in Europe, with targets possibly including Christmas masses in Cologne, Vienna and Madrid.