German police have stopped an Islamist terror attack, possibly targeting a cycling race attended by thousands every year in Frankfurt.
Officers arrested a couple with suspected militant links after the husband was spotted buying large amounts of bomb-making chemicals, Frankfurt's chief prosecutor Albrecht Schreiber told a news conference.
They found a functioning pipe bomb, an assault rifle, 100 rounds of ammunition, three litres of hydrogen peroxide, and other chemicals used for explosives in their home in Oberursel, near Frankfurt, he said.
The 35-year-old man held has dual Turkish-German citizenship and a criminal record, said police. His Turkish wife, 34, was also arrested.
Two young children found in their home are being cared for by social services.
Police said they decided to detain the man after he bought large amounts of chemicals used in explosives under a false name.
He was also seen walking along the route of Frankfurt's May Day cycling race, which attracts thousands of participants and spectators every year.
"Suspicions were heightened in recent days by the fact that the accused (man) was observed in the area where tomorrow's cycling race will take place," Mr Schreiber told reporters.
"The result of the raid shows that our suspicions were confirmed."
He added: "I want to emphasise that an attack was prevented, but it will have to be seen whether a concrete attack against tomorrow's cycle race was planned."
State police chief Stefan Mueller was asked whether the pair were planning an attack similar to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, which killed three and injured more than 260 spectators.
He said: "Clearly since the Boston Marathon these security concerns have been part of the considerations of how to deal with that (danger) before every marathon race in Germany - and that is also valid for cycle races."
German newspaper Die Welt quoted security sources as saying the husband and wife have links to Salafist militants in Frankfurt as well as the al Qaeda terror network.
Salafists advocate a puritanical form of Islam and are growing in number in Germany, as are the number of potential recruits for Islamic State (IS), says the country's BfV domestic intelligence agency.
Some 450 people from Germany have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join jihadist forces, BfV estimates.
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