Ten people have been arrested in Germany on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack using a car and guns with the aim of killing as many people as possible.

Several of the suspects, aged 20 to 42, were German citizens, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office said, without naming the other nationalities.

“They are believed to have agreed to carry out an Islamist, terrorist attack using a vehicle and guns that would kill as many ‘non-believers’ as possible,” the statement from the Frankfurt prosecutors said.

“To prepare the attack, they had already made contact with different arms dealers, rented a large vehicle and collected financial assets to use for the purchase of guns and the execution of the planned murders.”

The main suspects were a 21-year old man from Offenbach and two 31-year brothers from Wiesbaden, all of whom were associated with the Islamist Salafist community in the Frankfurt area, prosecutors said.

Another man was also detained, prosecutors said, without giving further details. There was no immediate statement from any lawyers for the detained men.

Authorities seized €20,000 (£17,000) in cash, several knives, small amounts of drugs and numerous documents and electronic devices during raids carried out by law enforcement, the prosecutors said.