Berlin - Experts on Friday defused an
explosive device found near an outdoor Christmas market in the
German city of Potsdam near Berlin, local police said on
Twitter.
Germany is on high alert for potential militant attacks
nearly a year after a Tunisian Islamist hijacked a truck, killed
its driver, and then rammed the vehicle into a Christmas market
in central Berlin, killing 11 people there.
In Potsdam, police cordoned off the area including the
market after being alerted about a suspicious object that had
been delivered to a pharmacy.
"The suspicion of an (improvised explosive device) has been
confirmed," police said on Twitter. No additional details were
immediately available. "It is still being investigated what
exactly the suspicious object is," they said in another Tweet.
The Potsdamer Neueste Nachrichten newspaper said the
pharmacy alerted police after receiving a package measuring 40
cm (16 inches) by 50 cm (20 inches) that contained suspicious
wires and electronics.
The Potsdam newspaper said police were alerted around 2:30
p.m. (1330 GMT). Police announced on Twitter about three hours
later that the object had been defused.
Police close the streets around a Christmas market after a suspicious object was found in Potsdam, eastern Germany. Picture: Julian Staehle/dpa via AP
Christmas markets opened across Germany on Monday at the
start of the holiday season, fortified with security staff and
concrete barriers to protect shoppers.
Germany has around 2,600 such markets, filled with sparkling
Christmas trees and wooden stalls serving candied nuts,
sausages, mulled wine and handicrafts.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said this week Germany
had increased information-sharing between federal and state
officials and taken other steps to increase security after a
series of missteps in the Berlin case.
A Ministry spokesman said this week the risk of an attack
in Europe and Germany is "continuously high".