Germany beefs up security in wake of terror alert

Amidst heightened terror alert in Europe, Germany has stepped up security measures in the central railway stations of Berlin and in Dresden following information from foreign intelligence agencies that they could be targeted for attacks by radical islamists.
Germany's intelligence services have received warnings from several partner services abroad in the past few days that suspected jihadists are planning attacks on the the two railway stations as well as on the weekly anti-Islam demonstrations in Dresden, TV network ZDF reported.
The terror warnings are not linked to the arrests of two Turkish men during a pre-dawn raid of eleven houses in different parts of Berlin yesterday or to last week's terror attacks in Paris that left 17 people dead, the report said.

Foreign intelligence services issued their warnings on the basis of information gathered by tapping telephone and e-mails communications between suspected islamist militants, who are known to the authorities and international terror networks.
At least one of the persons involved had stayed in an east European country after the attacks in Paris, the report said.
Germany's interior ministry neither confirmed or denied the report. Security authorities have been receiving a number of indications from different sources since the terror attacks in Paris.

All indications are examined carefully and serious warnings will be investigated speedily, a spokesman said.
German authorities have until now maintained that even though the security services are on a high alert since the attacks in Paris, they have no concrete information about plans for a terror attack in this country.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said yesterday that the situation is "quite serious and there are reasons for concern, but not for panic".