Police have shut down a shopping center in Germany after receiving intelligence over a potential terror attack, British newspaper the Independent reported on Saturday.

Authorities in Essen said the center in Limbecker Platz was closed for "security reasons".

"Police have concrete indications of a possible attack," a spokesperson for North Rhine Westphalia Police said.

"In order to avoid possible danger to visitors, they will not be able to enter the shopping halls or the car park."

The force said investigators were urgently looking into the origin of the attack threat using specialist forces, and has set up a phone number for concerned residents.

The latest security alert in Germany comes days after a man injured seven people with an axe in a rampage at Düsseldorf’s main railway station.

Source: MENA