BERLIN – German authorities said Friday they arrested a man with dual Turkish-German citizenship suspected of attempting to recruit supporters for Al Qaeda and procuring material that could be used to make a bomb.
The 24-year-old man, identified only as Adnan V., was arrested Thursday after police searched an apartment in Offenbach and a business in nearby Frankfurt, federal prosecutors said.
The searches revealed "a small amount of a potentially explosive compound and a homemade electronic device which, according to an initial evaluation, could be used as a detonator," prosecutors said in a statement.
The man also "is suspected of seeking members or supporters for ... Al Qaeda by circulating propaganda material over the Internet," the statement said.
They said there appears to be no direct link between the man and a recent spate of videos by extremists that have cited Germany's troop presence in Afghanistan.
The man was to be brought before a judge later Friday to determine whether he remains in detention pending possible charges.
Germany has been on heightened alert after several videos were released before elections Sunday. They made references to jihad, or holy war, and retribution against Germany, but did not mention any specific threats.
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