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German Cities Ban Trucks During Carnivals Amid Terror Fears

REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

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Jacob Bojesson Foreign Correspondent
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Carnivals around Germany this weekend are taking a number of security precautions to prevent terror attacks from happening.

Police officers will patrol the streets with machine guns and road blocks have been set up to stop trucks from attacking large crowds at a high speed. Authorities don’t know of any concrete terror plots, but the country remains on edge after a Tunisian man crashed into a Christmas market in Berlin Dec. 19, killing 12 people and injuring dozens.

“The general security situation, the threat of terrorism, has an impact on police action,” Cologne’s police chief told Der Spiegel.

Cologne will further ban all trucks weighing more than 7.5 tons from entering the city center during the carnival. The nearby city of Dusseldorf is also considering a similar ban.

“The festive mood, however, should not be affected,” Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker, told Die Welt. “Nobody should fear their participation in the street carnival.”

Jihadis carried out three major truck attacks in six months after Islamic State urged supporters to target public gatherings. A terrorist killed 84 people July 14 at a beach walk in Nice, France. A Palestinian man killed four Jan. 8 when he rammed a truck into a group of Israeli soldiers in Jerusalem.

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