German police arrest man on suspicion of preparing terror attack

German authorities arrested a man suspected "of preparing a serious violent act threatening the state", the German federal public prosecutor announced on Tuesday.

According to the federal public prosecutor, the suspect had "started to procure the necessary components and chemicals for the construction of an explosive device" back in January.

The arrested man had already purchased acetone as well as hydrogen peroxide solution in August and September, the prosecutor said. Both chemicals were needed to produce the highly explosive triacetone triperoxide (TATP).

The man had planned to ignite the explosive "at an unknown place in Germany at an unknown time in order to kill and injure as large a number of people as possible", the prosecutor said.

According to the prosecutor, the man had exchanged instructions for building weapons and making explosives since early 2019 in a messenger group close to the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS).

The German public broadcaster ARD reported that the arrested man had already been the target of security authorities for months. The German intelligence agency had received the first indications of the man from a foreign secret service.

Meanwhile, the public prosecutor in Berlin confirmed to Xinhua on Tuesday that a 26-year-old Syrian man had been arrested in his apartment in Berlin by special police forces.