In late December 2015, authorities in several countries announced the discovery of attack plots, organized by the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

(ISIL), targeting New Year's celebrations. Police in North America and Europe were on high alert in December 2015 because of a series of terrorist attacks and attack plots, including the

November 2015 Paris attacks A series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 21:16, three suicide bombers struck outside the Stade de France in Saint-De ...

, and because of information picked up by security agencies indicating that militants might plan to attack public New Year's Eve celebrations. New Year's Eve celebrations were cancelled following intelligence reports of planned attacks and several arrests in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, while in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, rail service was suspended as suspected attack plots were uncovered. In other cities, security was increased amid heightened fears in the wake of the Paris attacks. There were unprecedented security measures in several major European cities, including Paris,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, and

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

New Year's attack plots

Brussels

Belgian police arrested two men on 27 and 28 December and charged them with involvement in an ISIL-related plan to attack New Year's celebrations in Brussels, reportedly having discussed attacking the

Grand-Place The (French language, French, ; "Grand Square"; also used in English) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ; "Big Market") is the central Town square, square of Brussels, Belgium. It is surrounded by opulent Baroque architecture, Baroque guildhalls of ...

. Four others were arrested during raids and questioned but subsequently released. Public New Year's Eve celebrations and fireworks were cancelled in Brussels due to the heightened terror threat. No charges were pressed for planning an attack, but the two men were convicted of being members of a terrorist organization and sentenced to prison.

Ankara

Turkish police seized bomb-making equipment, a suicide vest and other equipment during a raid of a house in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

on 30 December, and detained two ISIL militants on charges of plotting a New Year's attack. A main target was reported to be the Kizilay Square where large crowds gather to celebrate New Year's Eve.

Munich train stations plot

In Munich, ISIL terrorists reportedly planned attacks on two train stations on New Year's Eve. German police stated that they thwarted the plots after they received a "very concrete tip" around 7:40 p.m. on New Year's Eve from intelligence sources in the United States and France. According to Bavarian interior minister Joachim Herrmann, between five and seven suicide bombers planned to blow themselves up at locations that included two train stations. A 550-strong police manhunt ensued after the possible suspects. The investigation was dropped in February 2016 due to "lack of clues" amid a failure to uncover leads on the seven names given in the warning.

Rochester, New York

Emanuel Lutchman, age 25, was arrested in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force on December 30 and charged with offering to provide material support to a terrorist group. He had specifically planned an attack on the Merchants Grill restaurant. He told the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

that he had also planned on killing his wife. On August 11, 2016, Lutchman pleaded guilty for planning the attack. On January 26, 2017, he was given the maximum sentence of twenty years in prison.

Other plots

Turkish police later revealed that they had informed other countries after finding evidence on a laptop retrieved during the Ankara raid of an EU-wide plot against Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom and Turkey by a group of thirteen prepared suicide bombers who had left the ISIL headquarters in

Raqqa Raqqa (, also , Kurdish language, Kurdish: ''Reqa'') is a city in Syria on the North bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine city and b ...

. Austrian police heightened security measures and investigated suspects in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

before New Year's Eve, without finding "concrete further results".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:New Year's attack plots Failed terrorist attempts Terrorist incidents in Belgium in 2015 ISIL terrorist incidents in Belgium Terrorist incidents in the United States in 2015 ISIL terrorist incidents in the United States Islamic terrorism in New York (state) ISIL terrorist incidents in Germany Terrorist incidents in Turkey in 2015 ISIL terrorist incidents in Turkey Attacks during New Year celebrations Islamic terrorist incidents in 2015 December 2015