German police arrested two men suspected of spying for years on Syrian exiles and opposition groups living in the country, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

The two were detained earlier Tuesday in Berlin, while another six alleged confederate were under investigation, the Karlsruhe-based Federal Prosecutors' Office said.

One suspect is a 34-year-old Syrian and the other is a 47-year-old German-Lebanese double national. Both of them have been observed for a period by German domestic intelligence and will be brought to court on Wednesday, prosecutors said.

Earlier in the day, some 70 police raided on apartments of the suspects for further evidence.