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Syrian terror suspect Jaber al-Bakr found dead in cell in Germany | |
(35 minutes later) | |
A Syrian migrant suspected of planning a bomb attack on a Berlin airport has killed himself in his prison cell in Leipzig, Germany, officials say. | |
Saxony's state justice ministry said Jaber al-Bakr was found dead and that an investigation had been launched. | |
He had been turned in to police on Monday by three Syrian refugees after being on the run for two days. | He had been turned in to police on Monday by three Syrian refugees after being on the run for two days. |
German police had been watching him for months, but failed to arrest him when they raided his flat on Saturday. | German police had been watching him for months, but failed to arrest him when they raided his flat on Saturday. |
Since his arrest, Jaber al-Bakr, 22, had been on hunger strike and was under round-the-clock surveillance, news website Der Spiegel reported. | |
Call to reward Syrian refugees who arrested fugitive | |
He was granted asylum after coming to Germany last year. | |
German intelligence received reports last week that he might be planning an attack, and they alerted police in the eastern state of Saxony. | German intelligence received reports last week that he might be planning an attack, and they alerted police in the eastern state of Saxony. |
Authorities said they discovered last Thursday that the suspect had used the internet to get bomb-making instructions and had obtained explosives. | |
The BBC's Damien McGuinness in Berlin says al-Bakr's death will now make it even more difficult for police to find concrete information about his plans and about any possible accomplices. | |
When police raided the flat in the eastern city of Chemnitz, they found 1.5kg of TATP, a home-made explosive used in the deadly jihadist attacks in Paris last year and in Brussels last March. The explosives were "extremely dangerous", police said. | When police raided the flat in the eastern city of Chemnitz, they found 1.5kg of TATP, a home-made explosive used in the deadly jihadist attacks in Paris last year and in Brussels last March. The explosives were "extremely dangerous", police said. |
But al-Bakr managed to slip the net, and made his way to the city of Leipzig where he asked the Syrians for help. | But al-Bakr managed to slip the net, and made his way to the city of Leipzig where he asked the Syrians for help. |
The three told police they had heard about the manhunt and tied him up while one of them knelt on him. | The three told police they had heard about the manhunt and tied him up while one of them knelt on him. |
They alerted police who finally managed to arrest him. | |
Since then there have been calls for authorities to honour the three. Bild newspaper described them as "the Syrian heroes from Leipzig". | |
The authorities believe al-Bakr had links to the group that calls itself Islamic State. | The authorities believe al-Bakr had links to the group that calls itself Islamic State. |