Berlin, Sep 16
An explosion was reported in Germany's Cologne city early on Monday, causing some damage to a building, local media said.
The NRW-Koln Police, in an X post in German, only announced that it had launched a "major police operation in area #Hohenzollernring" and that the area was closed "between Rudolfplatz and Friesenplatz" and citizens should avoid the area.
Subsequently, it posted that the traffic closures on Hohenzollernring had been lifted, and further information on the police operation would follow shortly.
Local media outlet cited a police spokeswoman telling it that an explosion occurred between Rudolfplatz and Ehrenstrasse at around 5.50 a.m. "We have cordoned off a wide area and the investigation is ongoing," said the spokeswoman.
It said that the blast occurred directly in front of the Vanity Club Cologne.
It also claimed that it had obtained CCTV footage of a man in a hoody who apparently left a bag outside one of the entrances and the explosion occurred shortly after it.
It cited a local resident as saying that he was woken up early in the morning by a loud bang, saw a fire outside, and called the fire service.