A spokesman for the Berlin police said a German national of Lebanese origin and a man from the Gaza Strip were taken into custody after receiving information that they were trying to acquire chemicals used in agriculture to make one or several “crude” bombs.

Authorities are investigating the possibility that the two men were planning to carry out a “violent criminal act” even though there is no concrete information about their target or their motives. The authorities, however, rule out the possibility that the two men were plotting to stage a terror strike to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.