A German army officer has been arrested for plotting a terror attack which he planned to pin on refugees.

The lieutenant, 28, was arrested on suspicion of disguising himself as a Syrian migrant to commit a 'serious act of violence with xenophobic motives.'

Some 16 addresses were raided in the German states of Hesse and Bavaria and in neighbouring Austria and France on Wednesday.

A German army officer has been arrested for plotting a terror attack which he planned to pin on refugees (file picture)

The soldier registered as a Syrian refugee in Giessen in December 2015 and applied for asylum at the beginning of 2016.

Authorities awarded him asylum - despite his background and his total inability to speak Arabic.

Investigators believe he went through the charade of registering as a refugee in case he was caught after the act and he was logged into the system as one of the migrants he despised.

He was detained at Vienna airport earlier this year trying to conceal an illegal pistol police think he planned to use in his terror attack.

The soldier registered as a Syrian refugee in Giessen in December 2015 and applied for asylum at the beginning of 2016. File picture shows a migrant centre is pictured on the outskirts of the town a year earlier

But authorities there did not keep him in custody and he was arrested in southern Germany on Wednesday.

Police said he lived a 'double life' - one where he masqueraded as a staunch defender of the German republic while secretly plotting to kill and maim its citizens.

A 24-year-old student accomplice of the soldier was also arrested.

Police said both men had a strong background in Germany's far-right scene.