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Syrian, Feared to Be Planning Bombing, Is Arrested in Germany Syrian, Feared to Be Planning Bombing, Is Arrested in Germany
(about 7 hours later)
BERLIN — The German police arrested a Syrian man early Monday who was suspected of plotting a bombing, bringing an end to a weekend manhunt that renewed fears about a threat posed by extremists among the nearly one million refugees and migrants who arrived in Germany last year.BERLIN — The German police arrested a Syrian man early Monday who was suspected of plotting a bombing, bringing an end to a weekend manhunt that renewed fears about a threat posed by extremists among the nearly one million refugees and migrants who arrived in Germany last year.
Federal prosecutors said the suspect, Jaber al-Bakr, 22, was “urgently suspected of planning and had already taken concrete steps to plan an Islamic-motivated explosive attack in Germany.” Security officials in the eastern state of Saxony said they had found the same explosive materials in the suspect’s apartment as those used in Islamic State attacks in Europe. Federal prosecutors said the suspect, Jaber al-Bakr, 22, was believed to be planning “ an Islamic-motivated explosive attack in Germany.” Security officials in the eastern state of Saxony said they had found about three pounds of explosive materials in Mr. Bakr’s apartment, including the same substances as those used in Islamic State attacks in Europe.
Jörg Michaelis, president of the police in Saxony, said that Mr. Bakr had been arrested in Leipzig, in the apartment of fellow Syrians who had recognized the man from photographs circulated by the authorities over the weekend. Jörg Michaelis, head of the state police in Saxony, said that Mr. Bakr had been arrested in Leipzig, in the apartment of other Syrians who had recognized the man from photographs circulated by the authorities over the weekend.
The Syrians tied up the suspect and took a photograph of him with a cellphone, which one of them took to a nearby police station, before urging officers to come and arrest him immediately.The Syrians tied up the suspect and took a photograph of him with a cellphone, which one of them took to a nearby police station, before urging officers to come and arrest him immediately.
“Our colleagues with the Leipzig police were able to seize him because his fellow Syrians had already bound and detained him,” Mr. Michaelis said. He declined to provide additional details about the Syrian who led them to Mr. Bakr, citing concerns about his safety.“Our colleagues with the Leipzig police were able to seize him because his fellow Syrians had already bound and detained him,” Mr. Michaelis said. He declined to provide additional details about the Syrian who led them to Mr. Bakr, citing concerns about his safety.
Mr. Bakr had been under observation by German security officials for months, before a commando unit stormed an apartment on Friday in Chemnitz, about an hour south of Leipzig, where he had been living. Mr. Bakr, who arrived in Germany in February 2015 and was granted refugee status five months later, had been under surveillance by German security officials for months. A commando unit stormed an apartment on Friday in Chemnitz, about an hour south of Leipzig, where he had been living.
In addition, the police found materials that they believe to be TAPT, the same explosive used in terrorist attacks by Islamic State militants in Brussels and Paris last year, Mr. Michaelis said.In addition, the police found materials that they believe to be TAPT, the same explosive used in terrorist attacks by Islamic State militants in Brussels and Paris last year, Mr. Michaelis said.
Thomas de Maizière, Germany’s interior minister, praised the security authorities for arresting the suspect but reminded Germans that the case was further evidence that their country remained in the sights of Islamist terrorists. Thomas de Maizière, Germany’s interior minister, praised the police for arresting the suspect but reminded Germans that the case was further evidence that their country remained in the sights of Islamist terrorists.
“The investigation shows that actions as we have seen in France and Belgium cannot be ruled out in Germany,” Mr. de Maizière said.“The investigation shows that actions as we have seen in France and Belgium cannot be ruled out in Germany,” Mr. de Maizière said.
“Once again, we have been successful in avoiding an explosion in Germany,” said Markus Ulbig, the interior minister for Saxony.“Once again, we have been successful in avoiding an explosion in Germany,” said Markus Ulbig, the interior minister for Saxony.
There was no indication of a specific target for the attack, but the authorities searched intensively for two days to find Mr. Bakr, who had slipped away from the state police and special antiterrorism units that raided his apartment after receiving information from the federal authorities. There was no indication of a specific target for the attack, but the authorities searched for two days to find Mr. Bakr, who had slipped away from the state police and special antiterrorism units that raided his apartment after receiving information from the federal authorities.
“We are exhausted, but elated: terror suspect Albakr was arrested overnight in Leipzig,” the Saxony police said on Twitter in announcing the arrest.“We are exhausted, but elated: terror suspect Albakr was arrested overnight in Leipzig,” the Saxony police said on Twitter in announcing the arrest.
A second suspect, identified by federal prosecutors only as Khalil A., 33, was arrested Sunday and ordered by a judge to be held on suspicion of accessory to plotting an attack. He is suspected of renting the Chemnitz apartment where Mr. Bakr was living and ordering materials for him online.
Mr. Bakr was to be brought before a judge on Monday, Mr. Michaelis said.Mr. Bakr was to be brought before a judge on Monday, Mr. Michaelis said.
The developments will heighten concern about the extent to which Islamist extremists have exploited Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision last year to allow asylum-seekers to enter the country without thorough screening. The developments will heighten concern about the extent to which Islamist extremists have exploited Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision last year to allow asylum seekers to enter the country without more thorough screening. Ms. Merkel, who was traveling in Africa, thanked the Syrians who had detained Mr. Bakr and handed him over to police, her spokeswoman, Ulrike Demmer, said.
In July, two men who had arrived as refugees carried out attacks in the southern state of Bavaria, one with an ax and the other with a bomb in a backpack. Those attacks, which wounded 17 people and left the two perpetrators dead, contributed to a growing pushback among Germans toward the refugees, who had arrived to a warm welcome. In July, two men who had arrived as refugees carried out attacks in the southern state of Bavaria, one with an ax and the other with a bomb in a backpack. Those attacks, which wounded 17 people and left the two perpetrators dead, contributed to a growing pushback in Germany toward the refugees, who had arrived to a warm welcome.
Two other Syrians who had been detained over the weekend on suspicion of having links to Mr. Bakr were released; a third, who had rented the apartment where police found the explosives, remained in detention; and the police continued to search the apartment in Chemnitz. As the authorities searched for Mr. Bakr over the weekend, they made public a picture of him wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and urged anyone with information on his whereabouts to come forward. The police in Saxony made the appeal in Arabic and English.
As the authorities searched for Mr. Bakr over the weekend, they released a picture of him wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt, and they urged anyone with information on his whereabouts to come forward. The police in Saxony also made the appeal in Arabic and English. The authorities were already on heightened alert over the possible threat posed by extremists who may have entered Germany among the 890,000 people — most from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria — who came in 2015 in the hopes of getting asylum.
They also increased the police presence at crucial transit points throughout the country, including airports and train stations. Saxony is home to the anti-immigrant movement known as Pegida — the German acronym for Patriotic Europeans Against Islamization of the West — and has been the site of some of the most virulent attacks on refugees.
The authorities were already on heightened alert over the possible threat posed by extremists who may have slipped into Germany among the 890,000 people, most from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, who entered Germany in 2015 in the hopes of seeking asylum.
Saxony is home to the anti-immigrant movement known as Pegida — the German acronym for Patriotic Europeans Against Islamization of the West — and has been the site of some of the most virulent attacks on asylum-seekers and refugees.
Across the country, support for the nationalist Alternative for Germany party has increased in recent months, corresponding to growing questions about the decision by Ms. Merkel’s government to effectively grant asylum to anyone who arrived in the country claiming to have fled war.