German authorities confirmed that they had received intelligence about five to seven Islamic State militants planning attacks across Munich on New Year’s Eve. The city’s police chief Hubertus Andrae told The Guardian that 550 personnel had been deployed to track down the suspects. Andrae said that a foreign intelligence agency had tipped them off, and Bavaria’s interior ministry confirmed that there was concrete evidence that the attack had been planned for midnight at two of the country’s main train stations.

Commuters were evacuated from the stations and partygoers were asked to stay away from big crowds. The night passed without an incident, authorities said, with thousands gathering on the city’s streets to ring in the new year.

On Wednesday, Brussels decided to cancel the city's traditional New Year’s Eve fireworks display after being alerted to security threats. The decision was made a day after Belgian police arrested two people on suspicion of planning terror attacks in the capital during the New Year holidays.