Public prosecutor: Islamic extremist planned attack on German soldiers during lunch break

A suspected Islamic extremist was arrested for planning an attack on German soldiers during their lunch break in Munich, with the aim of killing as many soldiers as possible and creating a feeling of insecurity among the general population.

The 27-year-old Syrian is suspected of supporting radical Islamic ideas, the Munich public prosecutor's office announced on Friday.

At the beginning of the month, the suspect obtained two machetes, each about 40 centimeters long, and allegedly planned to attack the soldiers with them.

He was brought before a judge on Friday after being arrested a day earlier, prosecutors said in a statement. His name was not published for reasons of German data protection regulations.

The arrest followed an attack on August 23 in the western German city of Solingen in which three people were killed and eight injured. A 26-year-old Syrian suspect was arrested.

He was an asylum seeker who was due to be deported to Bulgaria last year, but reportedly disappeared for a time and evaded deportation. The militant group Islamic State took responsibility for the violence without providing any evidence.

The violence has shaken Germany and brought the issue of immigration back to the top of the country's political agenda.

In response Extended temporary border controls at all nine borders this week. The closures are expected to last for six months and threaten Test of European unity.