Frankfurt prosecutors said that their investigation was directed against 16 people aged between 16 and 46. The main suspect, whom authorities didn`t identify, was arrested on suspicion of supporting a foreign terrorist organization.
Investigators believe that he had been a recruiter and smuggler for the Islamic State (IS) group since August 2015. They suspect that he had built up a network of supporters with the aim, among other things, of carrying out an attack in Germany.
Wednesday`s raids covered 54 apartments, business premises and mosques, largely in Frankfurt and the surrounding region. Officials said the raids followed a four-month investigation.
In a separate case, prosecutors in Berlin said that they arrested three people Tuesday night suspected of planning to travel to Syria or Iraq to undergo explosives and weapons training with IS.
All three were associated with the Fussilet mosque in Berlin mosque known as a gathering point for radicals, said Martin Steltner, a spokesman for prosecutors. Berlin Christmas market attacker Anis Amri visited the mosque shortly before his Dec. 19 rampage, in which 12 people were killed.
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