Israeli police said they detained six people Sunday for questioning over suspected corruption around a deal to buy submarines for Israel's navy from Germany's ThyssenKrupp.

They gave no further details but daily newspaper Haaretz said the roundup included "a former senior official in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bureau" and senior naval officers.

In July, Germany delayed signing a deal with Israel for the sale of three submarines, an Israeli official said, as the corruption probe gained momentum.

That followed the arrest of several people on suspicion of offences including bribery and money laundering around the deal to buy the Dolphin submarines from the German industrial giant.

David Shimron, a relative of Netanyahu and his family lawyer who also represented ThyssenKrupp in Israel, was among those questioned and then released in July.

Israeli officials said Germany had not backed out of the deal but was waiting to see the outcome of the investigation, daily newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported.

In February, Israel's justice ministry said it had launched an investigation into the affair, stressing that Netanyahu himself was not a suspect.

Source: AFP