A 30-year-old man from Tajikistan has been arrested in connection with the terror warning for Cologne's Cathedral. Shortly before Christmas, the German police had received indications about a planned terrorist attack on the Cathedral. The police presumes an Islamist extremist motive. Cologne's Cathedral has been closed outside church service hours due to security concerns since Christmas.
The suspect, who is allegedly part of a terrorist network from Central Asia, was arrested on Christmas Eve in Wesel on the Lower Rhine. The terrorist attack had been planed for New Year's Eve. The suspect has a European arrest warrant from Austria for terrorism as Vienna's Cathedral seems to have been the second target of the attack. A request for extradition and arrest of the suspect is being considered.