Heavily-armed police in the western German city of Bochum have arrested an alleged Islamist terrorist, suspected of planning attacks as part of a terror cell whose leader was under orders from al Qaeda.

The 27-year-old man, Halil S., who cannot be fully named for legal reasons, is said to have been a member of the so-called Dusseldorf Cell. Souces said he had been under surveillance since July.

In a statement Thursday, federal prosecutors in Karlsruhe said the German citizen had raised funds for terrorist activities through bogus online sales on the web auction site eBay in November.

S. is charged with plotting terrorist attacks for al Qaeda, as well as forgery, organized fraud and data crime.

Head of cell had al Qaeda links

The Dusseldorf Cell's alleged chief, Abdeladim El-K., was arrested along with two others in April. Police said two of them had tried to construct a detonator they planned to use to bomb targets in Germany. El-K. had been sent to Germany by an al-Qaeda chief in Afghanistan to carry out terrorist strikes.

Police searched for evidence at 16 homes and two offices in three German states, including the homes of five suspects associated with S. Some 150 police officers were involved in the operation.

German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said, "the case shows that Germany and Europe are still at the crosswires of Islamist terrorism." However it appears the terror suspect had no concrete plans. Friedrich added that it was important "to stay vigilant in the future."

The interior minister of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the incident took place, said the arrests were a successful blow against Islamists and showed that the security services were "on guard."

Author: Dagmar Breitenbach, Joanna Impey (AFP, dpa)
Editor: Andreas Illmer