German police on Thursday arrested two men in Berlin on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack, following a raid on an Islamic cultural centre in the capital, DPA reported.
The main suspect, a 24-year-old German citizen of Lebanese descent, is alleged to have ordered agricultural chemicals that can be used to make bombs.
The second man, aged 28 and known to have arrived in Germany from the Gaza Strip, is suspected of being his accomplice, a police spokesman said.
Police searched the premises of a cultural centre which includes a mosque, in the district of Wedding, as well as the men's homes.
"The suspicion involves preparation to commit a serious crime. The men allegedly ordered chemicals that would have enabled them to make a bomb," the police spokesman said.
The arrests were part of a long-running investigation, police said. The two suspects had been frequent visitors to the mosque and had for a short time lived on the premises. But, according to police, the mosque and its leadership was not being investigated.
The Berliner Morgenpost newspaper reported on its website that the men had ordered chemical coolants and a type of acid.