Police boost Bayern v Dortmund security amid terror alert

Police in the German city of Munich have deployed more officers to secure the the Allianz Arena during a Bundesliga match between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

The increased security presence comes after police received a tip on Friday that images circulated on social media appeared to show a target placed on spectators outside the stadium.

'No concrete evidence of danger'

The image was purportedly created by the ISIS-K terror group, an offshoot of the self-styled "Islamic State" based in Afghanistan.

The group claimed responsibility for last weekend's deadly attack on a music hall outside Moscow. 

A spokesperson for the Munich police department told German news agency dpa that they evaluated the photo intensively on Friday night along with the regional criminal investigation department and concluded that there was no concrete evidence of danger.

For a game of this importance, 300 to 500 people would be normally deployed. 

"We're now increasing this number," the police spokesman said. 

The Bayern-Dortmund matches are known as "Der Klassiker" due to their long-standing rivalry for supremacy in German football.

Threat of terrorism at major sporting events

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said earlier this week Germany would introduce temporary controls at all its borders for Euro 2024 in the wake of the terror attack in Moscow.

The showcase of European football kicks off on June 14 in Munich and concludes with the final in Berlin a month later.

Even before the attack in Moscow, Germany and France agreed to deploy security personnel to bolster security in each other's countries during the European Championships and the Olympics in Paris.

Dortmund defeated Bayern 2-0 in their first victory at the Allianz Arena since 2014.

lo/rc (dpa, DW sources)

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