BERLIN: German police arrested a Lebanese-German man and a Syrian man on suspicion of spying on Syrian opposition groups in Germany at the behest of Syrian intelligence, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

The Federal Prosecutors' Office said some 70 police officers searched the two suspects' apartments and those of six alleged accomplices.

They say a 34-year-old Syrian, identified only as Mahmoud El A., and a 47-year-old German-Lebanese dual national, Akram O., are suspected of "having spied over several years on Syrian opposition figures in Germany."

Prosecutors say the arrests and searches are the result of an "extensive" investigation by Germany's domestic intelligence service.

No further details were given and the investigation remains ongoing.

The two suspects taken into custody will appear before a judge Wednesday who will present them with warrants for their arrest issued on January 31, Agence France Press reported.

"They are strongly suspected of regularly spying on Syrian opposition figures in Germany for the Syrian intelligence service for several years," AFP quoted the prosecutor's statement as saying.