Security officials in Germany succeeded in foiling a possible terrorist attack before a bicycle race scheduled to take place on Friday.
German police revealed in a press conference that they were able to prevent a "Boston Marathon-style" attempt after raiding the house of an alleged Islamic extremist in a town near Frankfurt on Thursday. The authorities were able to seize firearms, bombs and chemicals, which would have been used as explosives during a bicycle event.
The suspects arrested were a 35-year-old Turkish German and his wife, wjho were being surveilled by the authorities before the raid. An investigation into the suspect's activities was undertaken by the authorities in mid-April after they received a tip from a hardware store employee that the couple purchased suspicious amounts of chemicals.
German police were alerted about possible terror attacks several weeks before a professional cycling race was arranged to take place in the area on Friday. Authorities considered this event to be a "soft target." Stefan Mueller, the chief of police at western Hesse state, said that based on their information, they were able to prevent an attack.
"Since the Boston Marathon it's part of the security assessment for every marathon in Germany, and of course this is true for cycling races too," Mueller said in a report from the Associated Press.
At least 200 riders are expected to join the race from Eschborn to Frankfurt with thousands of spectators present, as the event is taking place during a public holiday.
"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," Albrecht Schreiber, the chief prosecutor of Frankfurt, said during a press conference.
Schreiber also said that the man in custody has been linked to the Islamic Salafist movement. He has 15 prior offenses on record.
