German police have arrested three teenagers suspected of planning a terror attack in the name of Islamic State, local prosecutors said.

The arrested two girls and a boy aged 15 to 16, “They are suspected of planning a terrorist attack and intending to carry it out,” German prosecutors said in a statement.

All three are from the Düsseldorf area and were also “committed to committing a crime – murder and manslaughter”, prosecutors added.

Investigators are not releasing further details about the alleged scheme, saying the investigation is still ongoing.

However, Bild newspaper reports that the youths were allegedly planning to carry out Molotov cocktails and with a knife in the name of the Islamic State organization.

Their targets were believed to be Christians and police officers, and according to the investigation the suspects were planning to acquire firearms.

Germany has been on high alert for fear of Islamist attacks since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in October, with the head of the country’s domestic intelligence service warning that the risk of such attacks is “real and higher than it has been here and a long time.”