Germany probes arrested man's links to Paris attacks

Berlin, Nov 15: German officials have said they are investigating whether a 51-year-old man arrested in Bavaria last week is linked to the Paris attacks, even as police in his home country of Montenegro rejected a possible connection.

Thomas de Maiziere, Germany's interior minister, said French authorities were informed of the arrest shortly after the man was detained with a stash of weapons and explosives in his car near the Austrian border on November 5. The man's navigation device contained an address in Paris, he said.

"There is a connection to France but it's not certain that there is a link to this attack," said de Maiziere.

Bavarian governor Horst Seehofer told reporters that "there are reasonable grounds to assume that there may be a link to the matter."

He did not elaborate. Police in Montenegro said German police informed them they arrested a 51-year-old Montenegrin citizen with "a certain quantity of arms and ammunition" in his car, which was registered in the Balkan country's capital, Podgorica.

"We checked this information and found that 51-year old V V from Podgorica is not known to the police as the perpetrator of serious crimes or violations of public order," Montenegro police spokeswoman Tamara Popovic said in a statement.

AP