BERLIN (AP) — German authorities say they have arrested a Syrian citizen for allegedly planning a bomb attack with high explosives in order to kill a large number of people.

Federal prosecutors said special forces arrested the 19-year-old man Tuesday morning in the northeastern city of Schwerin. They searched the man's apartment and homes of other people who weren't suspected of any involvement in the crime.

Prosecutors said in a statement that the man, whose identity wasn't given because of Germany privacy rules, had started in July to procure bomb-making materials. They said it wasn't clear if he had already chosen a specific target for his attack. Authorities said he was motivated by an extremist Islamist ideology.

Germany has been hit by several attacks, including one in Berlin last December which killed 12.