German officials: Al-qaeda suspects were planning bombing

The law enforcement officials say the trio, who had been under surveillance for months, hadn't picked a specific target, but were experimenting with explosives and detonators before authorities swooped in and detained them yesterday.

The suspects include a Moroccan, a German with Moroccan citizenship, and a German with Iranian citizenship.

The attack was "still in the experimentation stage," anti-terrorism prosecutor Rainer Griesbaum told a news conference.

Officials decided to arrest the three in the western cities of Duesseldorf and Bochum after tips picked up through surveillance indicated they might be getting close to being able to carry out an attack.

One member of the cell was overheard saying he wanted to "do a bus." The trio had been researching how to build a bomb packed with metal objects that they could set off in a crowded area, officials said.

The man described as the main suspect identified only as Abdeladim El-K., a 29-year-old Moroccan citizen left Germany in early 2010 and trained in an al-Qaida camp in Waziristan near the Afghan-Pakistan border, and returned last year to carry out the attack, Griesbaum said.

El-K had at one time resided in Germany on a student visa but later returned illegally after abandoning his studies.

Officials said they were not sure how he had re-entered Germany. He appeared before a judge and was charged with membership in a foreign terrorist organisation.