A 22-year-old Syrian man who was the subject of a nationwide hunt and is believed to have been preparing a bomb attack was detained Monday, German police said.
(FOX)- Jaber Albakr was detained overnight in Leipzig, police in the eastern state of Saxony tweeted. Albakr, from the Damascus area of Syria, escaped the authorities Saturday during a raid of his apartment in Chemnitz. Investigators said they found “several hundred grams” of volatile explosive hidden in the apartment – enough to cause some significant damage.
Saxony criminal police chief Joerg Michaelis told reporters on Monday that Albakr was suspected of having ISIS contacts and had been on the radar of the country’s domestic intelligence agency since last month with “hints” he may have been planning something.
Michaelis said “the behavior and actions of the suspect currently speak for an [ISIS] context.”
The weekend raid came after Saxony police were tipped off about Albakr possibly planning an attack. He had been on Germany’s domestic intelligence service’s radar, but it wasn’t clear for how long.
Saturday morning, Albakr was seen leaving his apartment just as police prepared to raid the apartment building. Police fired a warning shot but were unable to stop him from scurrying away.
(Photo Credit: AP via Fox News)