Germany shut down two train stations in Munich about an hour before midnight on Thursday following a tip from the intelligence service of a friendly country that the Islamic State (IS) militant group was planning a suicide bomb attack.
The action by German authorities added to jitters in many capitals as Europe ushered in the New Year with heightened security after a year of militant attacks, the biggest of which killed 130 in Paris in November.
The stations – Munich’s central station and Pasing station some 8 km (5 miles) away – reopened several hours later after the tip-off could not be substantiated.
Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told a news conference on Friday that Germany had received a tip from another country’s intelligence service that IS planned to attack Munich. He did not name the country but German television said in an unsourced report that the tip-off came from France.
Five to seven suicide bombers were to take part in the attack, Munich police chief Hubertus Andrae said at the same conference.