“We all know there is a danger of attacks in all of Europe and also in Germany and here in Bavaria”.

(Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images) MUNICH, GERMANY – JANUARY 01: A police officer speaks to a group of young men in front of Munich main station on January 1, 2016 in Munich, Germany.

The Bavarian capital is home to the Oktoberfest, visited by 6 million people every year, and the annual Munich security conference, attended by the foreign ministers of all the major global powers. “There is, as before, a high threat of terror”, a police spokesman told AFP.

The threat involved suicide attacks on trains, prompting station closures.

Mr. Herrmann said the authorities were investigating “intensively”, but so far had made no arrests. They had yet to confirm, they said, whether the names they had received were correct or, indeed, whether the suspects were real people.

“It remains in fact at its highest level, and we are regularly disrupting planned attacks”.

As a precaution, Munich’s central train station and Pasing train station were evacuated at 10.30 p.m. local time (2130GMT) and heavily armed police units were deployed at both stations during the night. Today, some 100 extra officers are still present in the city.

Shortly after the Paris attacks, German police cancelled a friendly soccer game between Germany and the Netherlands in Hanover because of fears of a planned bomb attack.

The tips specifically referred to the two train stations, with the attacks planned for midnight.

Federal authorities said Lutchman met with an FBI informant and purchased supplies, including zip ties, a machete, and duct tape. The Munich police refused to give further information citing the continuing investigation. “Thanks for staying calm and for your understanding concerning our measures”, the latest message in English said.

“The situation in Europe and Germany continues to be serious in the new year”, de Maiziere said in a written statement.

Bild is reporting that authorities have the names of the suspects after a tip-off.

However, not even terrorist threats could keep Europeans from ringing in the new year – though every capital city was saturated with security, especially Paris – where terrorists struck twice this past year.

“I believe this decision was right because I think we cannot take unnecessary risks when we are dealing with such concrete threats, concrete locations, and a concrete time”, he said.