The German daily Die Welt is reporting that police have foiled a knife attack on a half-marathon in Berlin.

The paper said special police forces detained four men in connection with Sunday’s sporting event.

They said the main suspect was planning to kill participants and spectators with knives.

German news agency dpa reported that police confirmed arrests in connection with the half-marathon, but gave no further details.

According to Die Welt, the main suspect knew Anis Amri, the Tunisian attacker who killed 12 people and injured dozens when he drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin in December 2016.

The paper reported that the suspect, who was not identified, had prepared extra-sharpened knives to use in the attack.</s>BERLIN: German police said they detained several people in Berlin who they suspected of planning a crime linked to Sunday's half-marathon, and newspaper Die Welt said one was suspected of planning a knife attack at the popular event.

Berlin police said in a statement they had detained suspects aged between 18 and 21 after searches in the districts of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Neukoelln in the capital. They did not say how many people they detained.

"Because of the ongoing investigation, no further information can be given at the present time," the police added in their statement.

Die Welt said in its online edition the police had detained four men, one of whom they suspected of planning knife attacks at the half-marathon.

The newspaper said the four men were linked to Anis Amri, a Tunisian man with Islamist militant ties who killed 12 people in an attack in Berlin in December 2016 when he hijacked a truck and drove it into a crowded marketplace.

In its unsourced report Die Welt said the main suspect was known to Amri and had planned to stab to death spectators and runners at the half-marathon.

The suspect had in his possession two knives which had been especially sharpened for this purpose, the report said.

A record of 36,000 athletes entered the 38th edition of the Berlin half-marathon, the biggest in Germany.

Thousands of people lined Berlin streets to watch the event, which ended with no reported incidents.

Kenyan Erick Kiptanui clocked a course record of 58 minutes, 42 seconds, equalling the fastest time in the world this year, the race's organisers said on their website.

Amri's attack in Berlin in 2016 prompted German lawmakers to call for tougher security measures. No major Islamist militant attack has been carried out in Germany since.

Earlier on Sunday, 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."

Seehofer was speaking in Muenster, where a man drove a camper van into a group of people sitting outside a restaurant on Saturday, killing two of them before shooting himself dead. Authorities have said the attacker was a 48-year-old German citizen with mental health problems and that there was no indication of an Islamist militant connection.</s>Six people have been detained in connection with what police and prosecutors allege was a plan to carry out an extremist attack on Berlin's half-marathon, German authorities said.

"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 that six people were detained in co-operation with the city's prosecutor's office.

The German daily Die Welt first reported that police foiled a plot to attack race spectators and participants with knives.

The main suspect allegedly knew Anis Amri, a Tunisian who killed 12 people and injured dozens more when he drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin in December 2016, Die Welt reported.

One of the apartments Berlin police raided before the race started on Sunday was also searched after the Christmas market attack, the newspaper said.

Special police forces detained four men in connection with the race plot, the paper said - different from the six that police reported.

Die Welt reported that the main suspect, who was not identified, had prepared two knives to use in the attack.

It also wrote that in one of the searched apartments, dogs trained to find explosives barked when they were taken into the dwelling's basement.

The local daily Tagesspiegel reported that the main suspect had been under observation for two weeks around the clock.

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 Neukoelln districts of the city.

The half-marathon was being guarded by some 630 police officers, German news agency dpa reported.</s>German police detain several people in Berlin who they suspect of planning a crime linked to Sunday's half-marathon, with newspaper Die Welt saying one was suspected of planning a knife attack at the popular event.

German police say they have arrested six people aged between 18-21 over a planned attack on the Berlin half-marathon. (Credit: Reuters)

German police said they have detained several people in Berlin who they suspect of planning a crime linked to Sunday's half-marathon, and newspaper Die Welt said one was suspected of planning a knife attack at the popular event.

Berlin police said in a statement they had detained suspects aged between 18 and 21 after searches in the districts of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Neukoelln in the capital.

They did not say how many people they detained.

"Because of the ongoing investigation, no further information can be given at the present time," police said in a statement.

Die Welt said in its online edition the police had detained four men, one of whom they suspected of planning knife attacks at the half-marathon.

The newspaper said the four men were linked to Anis Amri, a Tunisian man with Islamist militant ties who killed 12 people in an attack in Berlin in December 2016 when he hijacked a truck and drove it into a crowded marketplace.

In its unsourced report Die Welt said the main suspect was known to Amri and had planned to stab to death spectators and runners at the half-marathon.

The suspect had in his possession two knives which had been specially sharpened for this purpose, the report said.

A record 36,000 athletes entered the 38th edition of the Berlin half-marathon, the biggest in Germany.

Thousands of people lined Berlin streets to watch the event, which ended with no reported incidents.

Kenyan Erick Kiptanui clocked a course record of 58 minutes, 42 seconds, equalling the fastest time in the world this year, the race's organisers said on their website.

Amri's attack in Berlin in 2016 prompted German lawmakers to call for tougher security measures. No major Islamist militant attack has been carried out in Germany since.

Earlier on Sunday, 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 Muenster, where a man drove a camper van into a group of people sitting outside a restaurant on Saturday, killing two of them before shooting himself dead.

Authorities have said the attacker was a 48-year-old German citizen with mental health problems and that there was no indication of an Islamist militant connection.</s>BERLIN (AP) — The German daily Die Welt is reporting that police have foiled a knife attack on a half-marathon in Berlin.

The paper says special police forces detained four men in connection with Sunday’s sports event. They said the main suspect was planning to killed participants and spectators with knives.

German news agency dpa reported that police confirmed arrests in connection with the half-marathon but gave no further details.

According to Die Welt, the main suspect knew Anis Amri, the Tunisian attacker who killed 12 people and injured dozens when he drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin in December 2016.

The paper reported that the suspect, who was not identified, had prepared extra-sharpened knives to use in the attack.

German police confirmed some arrests in Berlin on Sunday.</s>Kenyan Erick Kiptanui ran the fifth fastest half marathon of all time when he won in Berlin, Germany on Sunday.

Running in sunny but windy conditions, Kiptanui clocked 58 minutes, 42 seconds, missing the world record by just 19 seconds set by Eritrean Zersenay Tadese in Lisbon eight years ago.

Kenyans dominated the event and took the first seven places. Emmanuel Kiprono and Richard Mengich finished second and third in 60:29 and 60:36 respectively.

Ethiopia’s Melat Kejeta won the women’s race in 69:04. Switzerland’s Martina Strähl was second with 69:29, with Anne-Mari Hyrylainen of Finland third in 71:04.

A total of 36,001 athletes entered the 38th edition of the Berlin Half Marathon.</s>BERLIN — Six people were detained in connection with what police and prosecutors allege was a plan to carry out an attack on Berlin's half-marathon Sunday, German authorities said.

"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 that six people were detained in co-operation with the city's prosecutor's office.

The German daily Die Welt first reported that police foiled a plot to attack race spectators and participants with knives.

The main suspect allegedly knew Anis Amri, a Tunisian who killed 12 people and injured dozens more when he drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin in December 2016, Die Welt reported.

One of the apartments Berlin police raided before the race started Sunday was also searched after the Christmas market attack, the newspaper said.

Special police forces detained four men in connection with the race plot, the paper said — different from the six that police reported.

Die Welt reported that the main suspect, who was not identified, had prepared two knives to use in the attack. It also wrote that in one of the searched apartments, dogs trained to find explosives barked when they were taken into the dwelling's basement.

The local daily Tagesspiegel reported that the main suspect had been under observation for two weeks around the clock. 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 Neukoelln districts of the city.

The half-marathon was being guarded by some 630 police officers, German news agency dpa reported.</s>BERLIN — Six people were detained in connection with what police and prosecutors allege was a plan to carry out an attack on Berlin’s half-marathon Sunday, German authorities said.

“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 that six people were detained in cooperation with the city’s prosecutor’s office.

The German daily Die Welt first reported that police foiled a plot to attack race spectators and participants with knives.

The main suspect allegedly knew Anis Amri, a Tunisian who killed 12 people and injured dozens more when he drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin in December 2016, Die Welt reported.

One of the apartments Berlin police raided before the race started Sunday was also searched after the Christmas market attack, the newspaper said.

Special police forces detained four men in connection with the race plot, the paper said — different from the six that police reported.

Die Welt reported that the main suspect, who was not identified, had prepared two knives to use in the attack. It also wrote that in one of the searched apartments, dogs trained to find explosives barked when they were taken into the dwelling’s basement.

The local daily Tagesspiegel reported that the main suspect had been under observation for two weeks around the clock. 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 Neukoelln districts of the city.

The half-marathon was being guarded by about 630 police officers, German news agency dpa reported.</s>BERLIN (AP) — The German daily Die Welt is reporting that police have foiled a knife attack on Sunday’s half-marathon in Berlin.</s>BERLIN -- Six men detained over concerns about a possible attack on Berlin's half-marathon were released Monday after investigators found no concrete evidence to back their initial suspicions, German officials said.

Berlin prosecutors said the six men, aged 18-21, were released after their investigation, including the evaluation of data stored on electronic devices, turned up insufficient evidence to keep them in custody.

The six were detained Sunday, the day of the race, and daily Die Welt reported police foiled a plot to attack race spectators and participants with knives.

Police said later Sunday they had received vague indications of a possible attack plot and had taken action because of a generally high threat level, but had no "concrete indications" an attack was planned.

The investigation is still ongoing.
German authorities arrest six men aged 18 to 21 suspected of planning a terror attack on today's Berlin Half Marathon.