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| German police arrest six men suspected of planning Berlin half-marathon attack | German police arrest six men suspected of planning Berlin half-marathon attack |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Police in Germany have detained six men on suspicion they were planning to carry out an attack at Berlin’s half-marathon on Sunday. | Police in Germany have detained six men on suspicion they were planning to carry out an attack at Berlin’s half-marathon on Sunday. |
| “There were isolated indications that those arrested, aged between 18 and 21 years, were participating in the preparation of a crime in connection with this event,” prosecutors and police wrote in a joint statement. | “There were isolated indications that those arrested, aged between 18 and 21 years, were participating in the preparation of a crime in connection with this event,” prosecutors and police wrote in a joint statement. |
| Berlin police tweeted to say six people were detained in cooperation with the city prosecutor’s office. | Berlin police tweeted to say six people were detained in cooperation with the city prosecutor’s office. |
| The German daily newspaper Die Welt first reported on police foiling a plot to attack race spectators and participants with knives. | The German daily newspaper Die Welt first reported on police foiling a plot to attack race spectators and participants with knives. |
| The newspaper said the main suspect was allegedly linked to Anis Amri, a failed Tunisian asylum seeker with Islamist ties who hijacked a truck and ploughed it into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring dozens of others. | The newspaper said the main suspect was allegedly linked to Anis Amri, a failed Tunisian asylum seeker with Islamist ties who hijacked a truck and ploughed it into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring dozens of others. |
| Police spokesman Thomas Neuendorf told local broadcaster RBB the evidence of a viable and imminent attack was not yet confirmed. | |
| “They were very vague indications, but because of the high threat level we immediately started with our police searches and arrests,” Mr Neuendorf said. | |
| “But at the moment there are no really concrete indications that an attack on the Berlin half-marathon was foreseen.” | |
| One of the apartments Berlin police raided before the race started Sunday was also searched after the Christmas market attack, the report added. | One of the apartments Berlin police raided before the race started Sunday was also searched after the Christmas market attack, the report added. |
| It said special police forces detained four men in connection with the race plot – a different number from the six arrests the police reported. | It said special police forces detained four men in connection with the race plot – a different number from the six arrests the police reported. |
| Die Welt’s report said the main suspect, who was not identified, had prepared two knives which had been sharpened especially for use in the attack. | Die Welt’s report said the main suspect, who was not identified, had prepared two knives which had been sharpened especially for use in the attack. |
| It also said that in one of the searched apartments, dogs trained to find explosives barked when they were taken into the basement. | It also said that in one of the searched apartments, dogs trained to find explosives barked when they were taken into the basement. |
| Mobile phones and computers were among the confiscated evidence being examined, Mr Neuendorf said. | |
| The police spokesman added there had been “no danger at any time for the runners, participants and staff” during the race, which organizers said attracted some 250,000 spectators. | |
| Mr Neuendorf told German news agency DPA the investigations were centered on people "whom we regard are associated in the Islamist-terrorist area." | |
| The main suspect had been under observation for two weeks around the clock, local daily Tagesspiegel reported. | The main suspect had been under observation for two weeks around the clock, local daily Tagesspiegel reported. |
| After a foreign intelligence service tipped off German authorities that he was planning to attack the half-marathon, police raided apartments and two vehicles in the Charlottenburg and Neukölln districts of the city. | After a foreign intelligence service tipped off German authorities that he was planning to attack the half-marathon, police raided apartments and two vehicles in the Charlottenburg and Neukölln districts of the city. |
| The half-marathon was being guarded by some 630 police officers, DPA reported. | |
| Amri’s attack prompted German lawmakers to call for tougher security measures. | Amri’s attack prompted German lawmakers to call for tougher security measures. |
| No major Islamist militant attack has been carried out in Germany since. | No major Islamist militant attack has been carried out in Germany since. |
| Earlier on Sunday, Germany’s interior minister, Horst Seehofer, said the government would do everything possible to protect citizens, but added: “We have again experienced that ... absolute security is unfortunately not possible.” | Earlier on Sunday, Germany’s interior minister, Horst Seehofer, said the government would do everything possible to protect citizens, but added: “We have again experienced that ... absolute security is unfortunately not possible.” |
| Mr Seehofer was speaking in Münster, where a man drove a van into a group of people sitting outside a restaurant on Saturday, killing two of them before shooting himself dead. | Mr Seehofer was speaking in Münster, where a man drove a van into a group of people sitting outside a restaurant on Saturday, killing two of them before shooting himself dead. |
| Authorities said the attacker was a 48-year-old German citizen with mental health problems and there was no indication of an Islamist militant connection. | Authorities said the attacker was a 48-year-old German citizen with mental health problems and there was no indication of an Islamist militant connection. |