Call to boost cooperation with foreign intelligence following Munich suicide threat

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere wants more cooperation with intelligence services worldwide. His comments come shortly after threats of terror attacks in Munich emerged on New Year's Eve.

De Maiziere referred to the fragile security situation in Germany and said his government would work "closely with security organizations of other countries", Deutsche Welle reported on Saturday.

"The situation will continue to remain serious in the New Year," the minister said in an interview published in Saturday's edition of the mass circulation "Bild" newspaper.

Volker Kauder, the head of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), to which de Maiziere belongs, also said that close cooperation with intelligence services of other countries was needed. These services would have to be "well-equipped" and be capable of collating and evaluating information on possible attacks, Kauder told "Bild."

Munich police raised a terror alarm on New Year's Eve after being given information that terrorists of Iraqi and Syrian origin were planning attacks on the central station of the Bavarian city and at the train station in Pasing, a transport hub in the city's west. Both locations were sealed for several hours on December 31. Visitors and citizens were asked to avoid big gatherings. The terror warning for the city was lifted the next day.

Source: MENA