22-year-old Jaber al-Bakr, who was arrested in Leipzig on Sunday night, apparently intended to bomb an airport in the name of the so-called Islamic State terrorist group, the head of German domestic intelligence said.
“We received intelligence that he initially planned to attack trains in Germany,” Hans-Georg Maassen told German public broadcaster ARD on Monday. “Later, the plans became more specific and directed at airports in Berlin.”
The police were tracking al-Bakr, and decided to raid his Chemnitz apartment on Friday, when the suspect was seen buying glue in a one-euro-store.
“We have assumed that this might be the last chemical ingredient he needed to make a bomb,” stated Maassen.
In the apartment, the police found a highly volatile substance, likely identical with the explosives used by IS for attacks in Paris and Brussels, reported Deutsche Welle.
The explosives were “almost ready, or even ready for use“, added police chief Joerg Michaelis.
“From everything we know today, the preparations in Chemnitz are similar to the preparations for the attacks in Paris and Brussels,” outlined German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere.
SYRIANS APPREHENDED SUSPECT
Earlier in the day, Saxon state police confirmed via Facebook that Syrians living in Leipzig had told them that they had apprehended the suspect in an apartment north of the city centre.
The Facebook post added that police were “very consciously” not giving any more details of the circumstances of the arrest, “because we do not want to provoke any dangers for those persons who gave us the tip.”
Michaelis said in the press conference on Monday that a Syrian man walked into a police station with a photo of al-Bakr on his phone, saying that he and his roommates had caught him.
According to Bild, al-Bakr had met with three other Syrians while looking for urgent accommodation in Leipzig, after fleeing the police in Chemnitz. His new roommates eventually recognised him and managed to constrain him in their apartment.
“GERMANY OPENED ITS DOOR TO US”
According to DW, al-Bakr had tried to bribe his captors, one of the Syrians who overpowered him told RTL.
“We told him: You can give us as much as you like, but we are not letting you go,” Mohammed A. told RTL.
The Syrians tried calling the police, but the officials could not understand them. This prompted Mohammed to go to the station and lead the authorities to the suspect.
“I was so angry at him. I won’t accept such a thing – especially here in Germany, the country that opened its door to us,” he added.
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