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Deutsche Welle

Eric Breininger, a 21-year-old German, and Houssain al-Malla, a 23-year-old Lebanese, were last seen in the zone along the Pakistan-Afghan border.

German broadcaster ZDF had reported that Western intelligence services now have indications that Breininger, a convert to Islam, had returned to Europe, and possibly Germany, and was trying to procure explosives.

But a spokesman said there was no concrete evidence Breininger was plotting an actual attack.

Police said, however, that Breininger, who is from the state of Saarland in western Germany, had recorded an internet video in August in which he spoke of carrying out a suicide attack and supported jihad or holy war.

The Federal Crime Office (BKA) showed photos of the two men on its web page listing the most wanted suspects in the country.

Both men are suspected of links to the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), which is affiliated with al Qaeda and investigators say was behind a major bomb plot in Germany that they thwarted last September. Its targets included Frankfurt airport and the US base of Ramstein.