Suspected IS member arrested in western Germany

Red Cross members wait to offer psychological guidance to survivors of the terrorist attack in Nice, France, July 16, 2016. The Islamic State (IS)-linked news agency Amaq claimed responsibility for the attack in Nice on Thursday that killed 84 people, reported French media. [Photo/Xinhua]

FRANKFURT - A suspected member of the Islamic State (IS) has been arrested provisionally in the western German state of Rheinland-Pfalz, German media reported on Tuesday.

German special forces arrested the suspected IS member in a raid in the southwestern German town of Mutterstadt, according to a dpa report.

The suspect is thought to act on behalf of a high-ranking member of the IS.

It is believed an attack was being planned for the start of Bundesliga football season, which is scheduled to start at the end of this month, the report quoted a spokesman of the Interior Ministry of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate as saying.

A friendly football game between Germany and the Netherlands was cancelled in November 2015 after German police got information of a bomb attack targeting the game being planned.