Prosecutors in Germany have charged 12 men with plotting armed attacks on mosques that were designed to kill or injure many Muslims.

The authorities released a statement alleging: "They aimed through attacks on mosques and the killing and wounding of as many Muslims as possible to create civil war-like conditions."

Prosecutors said the suspects, including 11 gang members and one accomplice, had met regularly to plan, with all but one of them pledging money towards a $59,000 pot to finance the purchase of weapons.

The suspects, aged between 31 and 61, are all Germans and all but one of them has been detained. The 12th is still at large, prosecutors in the southeastern city of Stuttgart said.

Another suspect had died while in custody. A prosecution official said he had killed himself and that there was nothing to indicate foul play.

The official said cash sums in the "mid four-digit range" had been found in suspects' houses.