German Police Arrest Syrian Suspected Of Planning Terrorist Attack

A truck attack at Christmas market in Berlin that was claimed by the extremist group Islamic State killed 12 people in December 2016.

German police have arrested a 19-year-old Syrian man suspected of preparing an "Islamist-motivated" bomb attack, prosecutors say.

The man, identified as Yamen A., was arrested early on October 31 in the northeastern town of Schwerin, the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Police searched his home and several other apartments in the region.

The man is suspected of having "planned and already concretely prepared an Islamist-motivated attack in Germany using very powerful explosives," the statement said.

His intention was "to kill and injure as many people as possible," it said.

"As a result, he began to procure components and chemicals needed to make an explosive device," it said, adding that it was unclear whether he had chosen a specific target.

There were no indications that he was a member of a terrorist organization, it said. Authorities did not say when the suspect arrived in Germany.

German police have been on high alert to the threat of Islamist attacks.

A truck attack at Christmas market in Berlin that was claimed by the extremist group Islamic State killed 12 people in December 2016.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters