German building evacuated amid suspicious find in Israel embassy case

German authorities have evacuated an apartment block in the eastern city of Potsdam after finding a suspected explosive device, officials said on Saturday, in connection with the arrest of an 18-year-old suspected of planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in Berlin.

A police spokeswoman said that an evacuation was under way after a search revealed a potential explosive device in an apartment.

Authorities are preparing to neutralize the suspicious object, though the exact nature of the device and the timeline for the operation have not been disclosed.

The search in Potsdam, a city just outside Berlin, came one day after an 18-year-old Russian national, believed to be of Chechen origin, was detained at Berlin Brandenburg Airport as he attempted to leave the country.

Security sources have told dpa that the man is suspected of wanting to join the Islamic State terrorist militia and of having planned an attack on the Israeli embassy in Berlin with an Islamist motive.

Police have not confirmed whether the apartment being evacuated was the man's home, although dpa learnt on Friday that the 18-year-old does live in Potsdam.

German authorities have been on high alert following a string of deadly attacks in recent weeks, with the country set to go to the polls on Sunday.

The German-Israeli Society on Friday warned that police must "take anti-Israeli anti-Semitism as a source of Islamist radicalization seriously."