More than 300 arrested on New Year’s Eve in Berlin as people shoot fireworks at police

Around 500 people involved in chaotic scenes in which at least 14 officers were injured

Berlin police detained over 300 people on New Year’s Eve after at least 14 on-duty officers were injured as people shot fireworks at each other and police throughout the city.

One of the incidents occurred near Alexanderplatz where around 500 people were letting off fireworks at each other before police dispersed the group at the landmark Neptune Fountain, reported DW.

The crowd fired at police with pyrotechnics when they tried to check them for fireworks, according to the outlet.

Security was high across Germany ahead of the final night of the year, with police detaining three more suspects on Sunday in an alleged Islamist plot to attack Germany’s famed Cologne Cathedral on New Year’s Eve.

Attackers had planned to use a car to target the 800-year-old Gothic cathedral, Cologne police said.

The method of the planned attack was unclear, but an underground car park below the cathedral was searched with explosives sniffer dogs overnight, Cologne police director Frank Wissbaum told a news conference.

"The three people are now securely in custody, which we are very glad about since they can no longer communicate with each other," he said.

Mr Wissbaum said investigators had found evidence late on Saturday that linked the three to a 30-year-old Tajik man with alleged ties to Isis, who has been in custody since 24 December.

Federal authorities were continuing their investigation into what Mr Wissbaum termed a "network of individuals" from Central Asia with links to several German states and European countries.

No details were given on the identity or background of the people now in custody.

The suspects were detained in the western cities of Duisburg, Herne and Noervenich, police said, and communications devices were seized during searches of their apartments.

Security was stepped up in and around the cathedral ahead of a New Year’s Eve service. Police warned the public not to be concerned if they saw officers carrying machine guns and body armour.

Thousands of extra police also patrolled Berlin, where celebrations last year were overshadowed by violent clashes, with revellers barracking first responders attempting to reach the sick.

Police in the capital are also on guard after a pro-Palestinian solidarity demonstration scheduled for midnight was banned. Many Muslims in Germany are unhappy with the support shown for Tel Aviv in its war against Hamas.

Additional reporting by agencies