Greece denies report on Munich terror suspects
Greek authorities denied a report in Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper Monday that Islamic extremists said to be plotting a suicide bomb assault on German soil had entered Europe through Greece in October.
According to the report, which quotes sources inside Turkey’s intelligence services, Turkey tipped off authorities in Germany, France, Austria, Italy and Belgium that Iraqi and Syrian nationals belonging to the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) were planning a series of suicide attacks in Munich on New Year’s Eve.
The terrorists were said to be planning to blow themselves up at several locations, including Munich’s main rail hub and Pasing station in the western part of the city.
According to Hurriyet, the extremists, an estimated five to eight people, had gone through Greek screening centers using fake passports.
However, speaking to Kathimerini on Monday, Greek police sources said that neither the EU’s chief criminal intelligence agency Europol, nor Interpol, the global police body, have shared intelligence with their Greek counterparts backing the claim.
Meanwhile, officials from Greece’s Public Order Ministry told the newspaper that they will seek further clarifications from their Turkish counterparts.
German police closed the stations about an hour before midnight on January 31, and reopened them hours later. They lifted an alert of an imminent attack a day later.
