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| Syrian man seized in Germany 'was planning Isis bomb attack' | Syrian man seized in Germany 'was planning Isis bomb attack' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Angela Merkel has praised three Syrian refugees who guided police to a man with suspected links to Islamic State who was allegedly planning to blow himself up at a German airport. | Angela Merkel has praised three Syrian refugees who guided police to a man with suspected links to Islamic State who was allegedly planning to blow himself up at a German airport. |
| Jaber al-Bakr, 22, from Syria, was found by police at a high-rise block of flats in the eastern city of Leipzig in the early hours of Monday morning after a 48-hour manhunt. | Jaber al-Bakr, 22, from Syria, was found by police at a high-rise block of flats in the eastern city of Leipzig in the early hours of Monday morning after a 48-hour manhunt. |
| A police spokesman said three refugees had recognised Bakr from wanted posters, and two had bound and held him at the flat while the third brought a mobile phone photo to a local police station. | |
| After praising the security officers who carried out the arrest, the German chancellor said via her deputy spokesman: “Gratitude and recognition is also due to the [men] from Syria who informed police about the terror suspect’s whereabouts, which led to his arrest.” | After praising the security officers who carried out the arrest, the German chancellor said via her deputy spokesman: “Gratitude and recognition is also due to the [men] from Syria who informed police about the terror suspect’s whereabouts, which led to his arrest.” |
| Saxony police said Bakr was thought to be linked to Isis. “Both his modus operandi and his behaviour suggest this has an Isis context,” said the head of Leipzig’s criminal police, Jörg Michaelis. He said Bakr had “more or less finished making a suicide vest”. | Saxony police said Bakr was thought to be linked to Isis. “Both his modus operandi and his behaviour suggest this has an Isis context,” said the head of Leipzig’s criminal police, Jörg Michaelis. He said Bakr had “more or less finished making a suicide vest”. |
| Markus Ulbig, the interior minister of Saxony, praised the police operation, which involved 700 officers, and said: “We were successful in preventing a bomb attack.” | Markus Ulbig, the interior minister of Saxony, praised the police operation, which involved 700 officers, and said: “We were successful in preventing a bomb attack.” |
| Bakr was transported in a high-security van to Dresden city court, where he was due to appear before a judge. | Bakr was transported in a high-security van to Dresden city court, where he was due to appear before a judge. |
| A 33-year-old identified as Kalil A, also a refugee, was arrested for allegedly providing Bakr with the room where he constructed his bomb. | A 33-year-old identified as Kalil A, also a refugee, was arrested for allegedly providing Bakr with the room where he constructed his bomb. |
| Investigators found about 1kg of a highly volatile explosive in Bakr’s flat in Chemnitz, near Leipzig. They identified it as TATP, or triacetone triperoxide, 200g of which is enough to cause extensive damage. The explosives were detonated in a specially dug pit outside the apartment because bomb experts considered them too dangerous to transport. | Investigators found about 1kg of a highly volatile explosive in Bakr’s flat in Chemnitz, near Leipzig. They identified it as TATP, or triacetone triperoxide, 200g of which is enough to cause extensive damage. The explosives were detonated in a specially dug pit outside the apartment because bomb experts considered them too dangerous to transport. |
| Eighty people were evacuated from their homes as a result of the police operation targeting Bakr. A police spokesman said they would be able to return home on Tuesday. | |
| During the manhunt for Bakr, extra security measures were put in place at airports and railway stations. | |
| It is the fourth alleged bomb plot with an Isis link that German authorities claim to have foiled this year. Two other attacks this summer claimed by Isis, in which people were injured and both assailants died, have contributed to fears that Germany has become increasingly vulnerable to terrorist attacks. | It is the fourth alleged bomb plot with an Isis link that German authorities claim to have foiled this year. Two other attacks this summer claimed by Isis, in which people were injured and both assailants died, have contributed to fears that Germany has become increasingly vulnerable to terrorist attacks. |
| The interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, said there were parallels between Bakr’s alleged plot and recent attacks in Europe. “The preparations in Chemnitz are similar from everything that we now know, to the preparations for the attacks in Paris and Brussels,” he said. | |
| Bakr had been under surveillance by Germany’s intelligence service, the BND, for several months and was classed as a level-two threat. But police in Chemnitz were reportedly made aware of the threat he posed only on Friday. | |
| A surveillance team was stationed close to Bakr’s flat in southern Chemnitz. Bakr, apparently aware he was being watched, left his flat at about 7am on Saturday, undeterred by a warning shot from police. | A surveillance team was stationed close to Bakr’s flat in southern Chemnitz. Bakr, apparently aware he was being watched, left his flat at about 7am on Saturday, undeterred by a warning shot from police. |
| Later, police initially thought he had returned to his flat, but in fact he had fled via an underground passage. A photograph taken as he emerged from his flat, distributed throughout Germany on social media, showed a man in a black sweatshirt, carrying a rucksack. | |
| Bakr, from Saasaa near Damascus, is reported to have arrived in Germany via Austria as a refugee in February 2015. He was registered by police in Rosenheim, Bavaria, his fingerprints were taken and his details were compared with those in the international register of terrorist suspects, but no match was found. He was sent to asylum-seeker accommodation in Chemnitz and was officially recognised as a refugee in June last year. | Bakr, from Saasaa near Damascus, is reported to have arrived in Germany via Austria as a refugee in February 2015. He was registered by police in Rosenheim, Bavaria, his fingerprints were taken and his details were compared with those in the international register of terrorist suspects, but no match was found. He was sent to asylum-seeker accommodation in Chemnitz and was officially recognised as a refugee in June last year. |
| Initial evidence suggests he researched bombmaking methods on the internet and frequently visited Isis websites. Investigators alleged he had definite links to Isis and had been schooled by them in bombmaking. | Initial evidence suggests he researched bombmaking methods on the internet and frequently visited Isis websites. Investigators alleged he had definite links to Isis and had been schooled by them in bombmaking. |
| The three Syrians who turned in Bakr met him at Leipzig train station at about noon on Saturday, where they said they had found him exhausted, upset and dishevelled. They offered him a bed in their flat, but realised only later that evening that he was wanted after police sent out a message in Arabic via social media. They reportedly tied him to a sofa before contacting the police. | The three Syrians who turned in Bakr met him at Leipzig train station at about noon on Saturday, where they said they had found him exhausted, upset and dishevelled. They offered him a bed in their flat, but realised only later that evening that he was wanted after police sent out a message in Arabic via social media. They reportedly tied him to a sofa before contacting the police. |