German police raid properties in search for Islamic State suspects

Berlin: German police conducted raids in Berlin and other parts of northern Germany on Thursday in a search for four men suspected of having links to Islamic State militants and possibly preparing an attack in Germany, police said.

They arrested two men and one woman on existing warrants related to other matters, they said.

The raids, carried out in part by special forces, took place on four flats and two offices in Berlin and also in properties in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. Police seized computers, mobile telephones and sketches.

One of the suspects is wanted by Algerian authorities, who believe he is a member of Islamic State, said the Berlin police.