Berlin is preparing to send around 40 soldiers to northern Iraq to train Kurdish fighters battling against militants from the Islamic State, the German army said on Saturday. 

Following a decision last month by the German government to provide Kurdish peshmerga forces with weapons, Berlin's defense ministry said it had sent six soldiers to its consulate in Arbil, northern Iraq, to "coordinate" joint training exercises. 

A 20-year-old German alleged jihadist goes on trial Monday on charges of fighting for Islamic State in Syria, in Germany's first court proceedings involving the militant group.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said Friday that neo-Nazi vandalism and threats against a local newspaper in eastern Germany were "unacceptable and must be stopped."

This week vandals sprayed the words "Jews" and the Nazi slogan "Sieg Heil" on the office windows of the Lausitzer Rundschau, a newspaper known for its coverage of far-right groups.

Germany on Friday outlawed active support for the Islamic State, warning the "terrorist" group operating in Iraq and Syria also posed a threat to Europe.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the immediate ban covered the recruitment, including on the Internet, of jihadist fighters, the use of Islamic State (IS) symbols and social media propaganda.

Germany's foreign minister said Thursday he would prefer to see Britain remain united after Scotland's independence vote but said it wasn't for him to wade into Britain's domestic matters.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier was asked about the historic referendum to be held in Scotland on September 18 at a joint press conference with his British counterpart Philip Hammond.

Iran and world powers have a "difficult road" ahead as they attempt to agree a nuclear deal by a November deadline, with major differences remaining, Tehran's lead negotiator said Thursday.

"We are always optimistic. But we have a difficult road to go," Abbas Araqchi told reporters after a day of talks in Vienna with officials from France, Germany and Britain.

German politicians and media Monday called for a crackdown against radical Islamist propaganda after a group of ultra-conservative Salafists took to the streets calling itself the "Sharia Police."

"No tolerance for Salafists" said conservative daily Die Welt after a small group of men, wearing orange vests with "Sharia Police" written on them, went on a series of "patrols" in the western city of Wuppertal.

Three German men were arrested at the weekend when they flew home from Kenya, accused of having joined and fought with Somalia's Shebab Islamist militant group, officials said Monday.

Germany's trade surplus grew strongly in July on the back of booming exports, official data showed on Monday.

In seasonally adjusted terms, Germany exported goods worth a total of 98.2 billion euros ($127 billion) in July, up 4.7 percent from the figure for June, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement.

Germany, which has for two years been Europe's leading destination for asylum seekers, is planning to toughen its immigration laws as it struggles to deal with a growing influx of new arrivals.

While Greece and Italy have called for more European funding to help deal with the flow of immigrants arriving on their shores, Germany is readying steps to tighten rules for applicants from three Balkan states.