Still too early to tell, but it was based on intelligence from France, not a hoax call. Since the game was cancelled and security heightened it isn't possible to tell if the threat was still credible.
Will be interesting to see what they find in the apartments of the terrorists that the French police just killed (2) and captured (3). Hopefully the security forces can maintain their momentum and continue finding and killing these cells.
http://www.nytimes.com/live/paris-at...ch-came-after/
German Soccer Match Was Canceled Over ‘Concrete’ Threat, Official Says
Multiple sources reporting the same, but could be circular reporting.The German authorities have been reluctant to disclose details about the tip, and Mr. Maassen declined to confirm reports that it had come from French intelligence service, saying on ARD television on Wednesday morning only that the authorities “were able to establish that this was a valid tip.”
High level officials were at this event also. I doubt the terrorists knew that, but when you potentially see two soccer games targeted that have VIPs in attendance it does cause one to wonder.Mr. Maassen said the decision to cancel the match, between Germany and the Netherlands, came only 90 minutes before kickoff, because the authorities were checking the information against as many sources as possible.
Implications for the U.S. are, as we always suspected, that sporting events are credible targets. Threats, real or deception, will continue to disrupt major events and make security increasingly expensive. It is the death by a thousand cuts approach. When everything is a target, and you can't defend everything, then maybe a good offense is overdue?
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