A 20-year-old Iraqi has been deported back to his home country after German authorities suspected he was planning a "terrorist attack," Germany's Interior Ministry announced on Saturday, Paralel.Az reports citing Deutsche Welle.

The eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt's Interior Ministry accused the unnamed man of planning a "serious act of violence." He has been permanently banned from entering Germany.

German authorities said the suspect lived in Saxony-Anhalt but worked in Lower Saxony. The police received a tip regarding the suspect, suggesting he was planning a "serious attack" on a Christmas market, media reported. He was arrested in Lower Saxony on November 21.

The ministry said the deportation order was based on "the prevention of a particular threat to the security of the Federal Republic of Germany or a terrorist threat."

It was not clear whether any evidence confirming said plans was found.

The agency said the raised risk of attacks against the Jewish community or "the West as a whole" came in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attacks and Israel's subsequent military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

Germany's migrant communities of Arab origins are often the main suspects of such attacks.