Germany arrests Syrian IS suspects over Duesseldorf plot
- Published
German police reportedly got a tip-off from French intelligence
German police have arrested three Syrian men on suspicion of plotting an Islamic State (IS) suicide attack in the western city of Duesseldorf.
The federal prosecutor's office said the suspects' plan was for two to detonate suicide vests, then others would fire their guns at pedestrians.
Two suspects joined IS in Syria in 2014 and reached Germany via Turkey in 2015, the statement said.
The third was already in Germany. A fourth suspect is in French custody.
Germany's Der Spiegel says German police got a tip-off from French authorities after the fourth suspect had revealed the terror cell.
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The arrests took place in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg and Baden-Wuerttemberg.
The suicide bombing was to take place on Heinrich-Heine-Allee, a busy road in the city centre, the prosecutor's statement said. Police swooped before the group had started preparing the materials.
Security officials told Der Spiegel that there was no connection with this month's Euro 2016 football competition in France.
The so-called Islamic State claimed attacks in Paris last November in which 130 people were killed. Three explosions targeted the Stade de France stadium during a football match between France and Germany.