German city of Bremen scales back security alert
Berlin (AFP) - German authorities Sunday downgraded a security alert in the northern city of Bremen that had led to two temporary arrests and searches of premises that included an Islamic cultural centre.
Police had since Saturday heightened security at key city sites, including the town hall, main church and a synagogue, after receiving a domestic intelligence service warning that a 39-year-old Lebanese man may have purchased automatic weapons.
However, no arms were discovered in police searches of his apartment, workplace and the Islamic centre, during which the man and another suspect were temporarily detained, said Bremen's interior affairs chief Ulrich Maeurer.
The initial alert "was so specific that we could no longer rule out an attack in Bremen," he told a press conference.
"We are happy we didn't find any weapons," he added. "We can downgrade the situation."
Police had warned of a "heightened threat level," and said security would be tightened at the 42,000-capacity Weserstadion football ground, where Bundesliga home team Werder Bremen was set to play second-place VfL Wolfsburg later Sunday.
It was Germany's third recent alert after fears of possible extremist attacks led to the cancellation of a January march by the anti-Islam movement PEGIDA in Dresden. Similar concerns led the city of Brunswick to call off a carnival parade in February.
Police union GdP on Sunday warned against complacency about the threat of attacks.
"Politicians should stop talking of an abstract terror threat in Germany," said the union's chairman Oliver Malchow.
"Germany is undoubtedly a target of terrorists. The terror warnings are becoming more frequent and specific."
