Terrorist attacks are being planned in Germany, including one this month, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said Wednesday, speaking of a “new security situation” in the country.
“From today, there will be a visible police presence. I thought it should be explained to citizens,” said De Maiziere at a hastily called news conference in Berlin.
“There will also be a variety of measures that will not be visible. There is reason for concern, but no reason for hysteria,” he added.
Evidence of a potential attack toward the end of the month came from a “foreign partner,” he said.
“According to information from a foreign partner which came to us after the Yemen incident, we suspect a planned attack is due to be put into action at the end of November,” De Maiziere said.
Last month, authorities discovered two US-bound parcel bombs originating from Yemen, one of which transited through Cologne airport in western Germany.
“Since the middle of 2010, the security services have noticed increased indications that the terrorist organization al Qaeda has been planning attacks in the United States, in Europe and in Germany,” he said. “We now have more details and indications of danger … It is the unanimous assessment of the security services that we are currently dealing with a new situation.”
Announcing heightened security measures “until further notice,” especially at train stations and airports, De Maiziere said, “These are designed to be preventative and act as a deterrent.”
In addition to beefed-up security throughout Germany, there could also be heightened checks on the external borders of the European Schengen visa-free travel zone, the minister said.
Recent investigations by the county’s federal crime office “confirmed the continued efforts of Islamist groups to carry out planned attacks in Germany,” he added.
“There are also concrete indications in this case,” he said.
Earlier this month, German police arrested a man over videos published on the internet threatening bomb attacks unless an Islamist jailed earlier this year is released, authorities said.
In October, De Maiziere warned against “alarmism” about the threat of terrorist attacks, after the US, Britain and Japan issued a travel alert for Europe.
This earned him criticism in some quarters for downplaying the threat and being insufficiently tough on terror.