The German government says a young Iraqi man suspected in the horrific assault and murder of a 14-year-old Jewish schoolgirl in western Germany has been arrested in his homeland.

The Interior Ministry said 20-year-old Ali Bashar was arrested by Kurdish security forces in northern Iraq early Friday at the request of German police.

The girl, Susanna Maria Feldman, disappeared from her hometown of Mainz on May 22 and her body was found Wednesday in Wiesbaden. Authorities said Bashar had left Germany with his family abruptly last week, traveling to northern Iraq via Turkey.

Bashar arrived in Germany in 2015, at the height of the influx of refugees and other migrants. He was appealing the rejection of his asylum application and police said he was suspected in a string of previous offenses in the same area.

(AP)