German police arrest suspected Syrian terrorist

A Syrian refugee who was detained after a two-day manhunt in Germany on suspicion following terrorist activities had probable links to the Islamic State, German police said Monday.

The president of the criminal investigation office in Saxony Jörg Michaelis said in a press conference in Dresden, east Germany, that indications suggested that Jaber al-Bakr had links to the IS terrorist group.

"The methods and behavior of the suspect suggest an IS context," said the official.

The declarations run in accordance with the findings of the Federal Prosecutor in charge of the case, who on Sunday accused Jaber al-Bakr of planning to carry out an "Islamist inspired" attack.

Al-Bakr had been evading arrest since Saturday, after special forces broke into his flat in Chemnitz, where they found a cache of explosives.

The agents attempted to impede his escape by firing live rounds, but failed according to official accounts.

Michaelis confirmed media reports that the explosives found in al-Bakr's house were identified as triacetone triperoxide (TATP), an explosive used by the IS in the Paris and Brussels terror attacks.

He eventually was found by police who posted a statement on their Twitter account on Monday stating that al-Bakr had been arrested in Leipzig, and was considered "dangerous."

German security forces said they were "tired but happy" after nearly 48 hours in search of the alleged terrorist.

TATP is a highly explosive crystalline compound that can be assembled with readily available components such as sulfuric acid, hydrogen peroxide and acetone, and is highly unstable and very sensitive to temperature changes, friction and impacts.

The weekly newspaper "Der Spiegel" published on Sunday that the suspect entered Germany through Bavaria on Feb. 18, 2015, during a peak in migrant arrivals to the European Union.

Two weeks later he applied for refugee status with Syrian passport, a request that was approved by mid-July.

The Saxony police arrested three other people on Saturday and at least one more on Sunday, during a search in Chemnitz, all linked to the main suspect, but released no further information.

During the search for the suspect, security measures protecting critical infrastructures were reinforced across Germany, including railway stations and airports, as in the case of Berlin, some 250 km away from Chemnitz.

Germany suffered two jihadist attacks in July 2016, committed by asylum seekers; both terrorists died and twenty people were reported wounded.

Interior minister for Saxony Markus Ulbig said the latest arrest had been a "great success" and Germany had once again prevented a possible explosive attack on its territory.

Both Ulbig and Michaelis thanked the public for their cooperation in the matter.

Source: EFE