Police: threat against German hotel was teenagers’ hoax

BERLIN – An anonymous call threatening a “terror attack” on a German hotel on Tuesday morning was a hoax by teenagers in Austria, police in the eastern city of Leipzig said.

They called off an extensive search of the hotel and withdrew police from around the building after they identified the caller.

In a tweet, police said the threat was “apparently a bad joke by teenagers from Austria via a cellphone.”

They did not say whether they were pursuing charges and could not immediately be reached.

Police spokesman Alexander Bertram said earlier that the upscale Fuerstenhof hotel received an anonymous phone call around 2:50 a.m. local time.

Germany has been on edge since two attacks this summer claimed by the Islamic State in which multiple people were injured and both assailants died.