Berlin, May 9 (IANS): German police on Tuesday arrested two suspected Syrian militants for having ties to the Islamic State (IS) and Nusra Front terror groups, the federal prosecutor's office said.

Abdulmalk A., 30, is accused of having joined the IS and committed a war crime, as well as having killed someone during a non-international conflict whose protection he should have guaranteed according to international law, Efe news reported.

Mousa H.A., 23, is accused of belonging to the Nusra Front.

According to the arrest warrants issued by Germany's higher court, the two joined a Nusra combat unit in the Syrian civil war in 2012.

Mousa is thought to have participated as a fighter in operations against forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Abdulmalk, who was allegedly a commander in the east of the country, is believed to have participated in the taking of several oil wells and the city of al-Tabqa.

In 2013, Abdulmalk allegedly took a Syrian regime sniper hostage in al-Tabqa, forced him to dig his own grave and decapitated him.

A few months later, Abdulmalk was suspected to have joined the IS in Der Ezzor, his hometown, and after participating in several operations as a fighter he was put in charge of managing the Euphrates dam.

The arrests occurred in Berlin and in the central region of Saxony-Anhalt.