German police arrested a married couple suspected of having planned an attack and seized an assault rifle, ammunition and a pipe bomb in their home, Die Welt daily reported Thursday.

The newspaper identified the couple arrested overnight in western Hesse state only as Halil and Senay D., saying they were believed to have links to Salafist and Muslim extremist groups.

Authorities had noticed them last month when they purchased a large amount of chemicals that can be used to make explosives, giving a false name to the building supplies shop, the report said.