A suspect is lead away by police officers after he was arrested in Berlin, Germany. Photo / AP
A suspect is lead away by police officers after he was arrested in Berlin, Germany. Photo / AP
Police in Germany are believed to have prevented a suspected terror attack on the Berlin half-marathon today.
Six people were arrested in a series of operations around the city on suspicion of planning to attack spectators and runners at the event with knives, according to German press reports.
Police would only confirm that six people between the ages of 18 and 21 were arrested on suspicion of "planning a crime" in connection with the race, which attracted an estimated crowd of 32,000, the Daily Telegraph reports.
German media reported that the suspected ringleader is a known associate of Anis Amri, a Tunisian Isis adherent who killed 12 people when he drove a truck into a packed Christmas market in Berlin in 2016.
He had been under surveillance for some time and police decided to act when it became clear he and his associates were planning an attack, according to Welt newspaper.
"We're still evaluating. But the signs are it was close," the newspaper quoted an unnamed police officer as saying. Police had only been watching the main suspect for two weeks, according to some reports.
The homes of the six arrested men were searched and explosives were reportedly found at one of them. It is not clear whether they were intended for use today.
The suspected plot comes a day after two people were killed when a 48-year-old German drove a minivan into an open-air restaurant terrace in the city of Muenster.
Police in Berlin said the events in Muenster had led to extra vigilance, but the two incidents appear to be unconnected.
Officials said in Muenster today they do not believe the driver of the minivan had any links to Islamist extremism and dismissed earlier reports of links to the German far-right.
Police observe the half marathon in front of the Berlin Cathedral. Photo / AP
"There is no evidence of political motives," Hajo Kuhlisch, the Münster police chief said. "The motive and cause seem to have come from the mind of the perpetrator alone."
The driver, who shot himself dead in front of diners after ploughing into the restaurant terrace, has been identified as Jens R, a 48-year-old German citizen born about an hour south of the city.
Officials said yesterday he was known to police in connection with a series minor criminal offences in 2015 and 2016, including property damage and threatening behaviour.
He is also believed to have suffered from mental health issues. He had reportedly attempted suicide in the past and spoken of killing himself in a "spectacular" manner.
Police have ruled out initial reports that two accomplices may have fled the scene and now believe Jens R acted alone.
Two people were killed in the attack. They were identified today as a 65-year-old man from Borken, about an hour west of Muenster, and a 51-year-old woman from Lüneburg, to the north.
Around 20 people were injured, and several were still in critical condition.
