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German special forces have arrested a man suspected of carrying out a triple bomb attack on a bus carrying players and staff from the Borussia Dortmund football club.

Greed is being investigated as a possible motive after the coach was hit as it travelled from a hotel to the team's ground in Dortmund before a Champions League match with AS Monaco.

The 28-year-old suspect, identified in media reports as a German-Russian citizen named Sergej W, allegedly bought shares in the club just before the bombing and planned the attack so he could earn up to €4m (£3.3m) if the stock price plummeted.

It was claimed that he was staying in the same hotel on the day of the attack and had a room that overlooked the street where three devices exploded near the bus on April 11.

Police are investigating whether the bombs were detonated remotely from the hotel room as the bus passed by.

(Image: REUTERS) (Image: REUTERS)

As emergency services descended on the scene and terrified guests ran through the l'Arrivee hotel in the chaotic aftermath, the suspect calmly went to its restaurant and ordered a steak, Bild reported.

The triple blast injured player Marc Bartra, who suffered a fractured wrist, and a police officer as it shattered windows and blew out tyres at the back of the coach.

The suspect was arrested near the city of Tubingen in south-western Germany and is being investigated for 20 counts of attempted murder.

Hundreds of armed police officers carried out a series of raids, with at least four homes being searched, and the suspect was detained on his way to work.

(Image: AFP)

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German prosecutors claimed the suspect had booked a room at the hotel on March 11 for two stays - from April 9-13 and April 16-20.

At that time the date for Borussia Dortmund's home match hadn't been selected, but it would have been during one of those two periods.

When the suspect checked in before the bombing in he allegedly rejected the first room he was assigned because it didn't have a view of the street.

It was claimed he then chose a room on the top floor with a direct view of the road, Bild reported.

(Image: REUTERS)

Detectives investigated a number of potential motives, including far-right and Islamic terrorism, after discovering three letters claiming responsibility for the attack.

However those lines of investigation were ruled out and the claims in the letters were dismissed as fake.

German media reported that investigators are now looking at greed as a possible motive.

Before the bombing the suspect allegedly bought options to short sell 15,000 shares of Borussia Dortmund stock for €78,000 (£65,000), Bild and Deutsche Welle reported.

After the attack the the share price fell from €5.738 to €5.421, Deutsche Welle added.

He would have profited from the transaction if the stock price dropped.

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Bank employees alerted police over possible money laundering because they deemed the online purchase to be suspicious, Bild reported.

Detectives checked the IP address and found that the purchase was made at the hotel where both the suspect and team were staying.

The suspect has a background in electrical engineering and police assume he had the knowledge and ability to build professional bombs, Bild reported.

As a result of the attack the first leg quarter-final match was called off and moved to the following night, with Monaco claiming a 3-2 victory.

Monaco won the second leg 3-1 earlier this week, advancing to the semi-finals of the competition.