German police report no Christmas Eve incidents at Cologne Cathedral

Cologne police reported no untoward incidents during their checks on the German city's famous cathedral following warnings of a possible terrorist attack on the traditional Christmas Eve service.

Careful checks of people entering the cathedral were without incident, a police spokeswoman said on Monday. The surrounds of the cathedral, where police had increased their presence, had also remained quiet, she said.

Ahead of the service, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki thanked the congregation for their attendance and for the fact that they had not allowed themselves to be unsettled or frightened.

He expressed particular thanks to the police "who have turned the cathedral upside down to some extent, so that we are able to celebrate a service and Christmas here this evening in safety." Woelki also thanked the cathedral staff and security service personnel.

Intelligence had come in that Cologne Cathedral and a church in Vienna could be the target of Christmas Eve attacks by an Islamist group. According to police in Cologne, the information also referred to New Year's Eve.

Police in Vienna also took additional security measures and Christmas Eve masses went ahead as planned and without incident.

Four people were detained in the Austrian capital. Two men and a woman are being held in pre-trial custody in connection with an investigation into an Islamist network, the Austrian Press Agency (APA) reported.

The regional court gave the risk of flight, destruction of evidence and commission of crime as grounds for the detention.

Data storage devices and mobile phones were seized during a search of a refugee accommodation centre shortly before Christmas.

The three had denied criminal activity, a court spokeswoman said.

A fourth person, who is under investigation for possible complicity with the other three, was held during the raid.