Brazilian police on Thursday arrested a man accused of planning a suicide bombing, who is believed to have ties to the Islamic State (IS) group.

In an investigation backed by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), police discovered the suspect was preparing to "assemble a vest with explosives intended for carrying out a suicide terrorist attack on national territory," a police statement said.

A police source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP the man -- arrested in the state of Sao Paulo -- was suspected of having ties to IS.

The Islamic State group no longer holds large swaths of territory as it once did in Iraq and Syria, but affiliates in Africa and the Middle East continue to carry out deadly attacks.

Brazil to date has not been targeted by jihadist attacks.