German police arrest suspect “planning bomb attack”

[webfact]

German police arrest suspect “planning bomb attack”

Catherine Hardy

 

 

• 22-year-old Syrian came to Germany during 2015 migrant surge
• Police were tipped off by Syrians holding suspect
• Explosives had been found in Chemnitz flat
• Suggests plan for Islamist militant attack – prosecutor

 

DRESDEN: -- A man suspected of planning a major terrorist attack in Germany has appeared in court in Dresden.

 

Police in the state of Saxony say Jaber al-Bakr was detained in a flat in the eastern city of Leipzig in the early hours of Monday.

 

Officers say they found the 22-year-old, who is originally from Damascus, tied up at an address in the Paunsdorf area of the city, after a tip-off in the early hours.

 

They had been looking for him since a raid on an apartment in the eastern German city of Chemnitz on Saturday.

 

How it happened
 

Without citing a source, Spiegel Online reported that police captured Albakr after a tip-off from another Syrian living in Leipzig.

 

Albakr reportedly approached the man at Leipzig train station and asked if he could sleep at his home.

 

The man agreed but later called the police.

 

Albakr was arrested at 0042 local time on Monday.

 

Two-day operation
 

The alarm was initially raised after explosives were found in a flat in the eastern town of Chemnitz on Saturday.

 

Officers say they uncovered a detonator, explosives and a kilo of chemicals.

 

A controlled explosion was carried out.

 

Police had been looking for the 22-year-old Syrian refugee in connection with the discovery.

 

Jaber al-Bakr

 

• Syrian national
• 22 years old
• Came to Germany in February 2015
• Granted asylum in November
• Media reports say police acted on a tip-off from the local Syrian community

 

Bad news for Angela Merkel?

 

Reports that a refugee was allegedly planning a bomb attack will prove unwelcome news for the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

 

Her conservatives have lost support to the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) over her “open-door” migration policy.

 

Merkel said last month she wished she could “turn back the time by many, many years” to better prepare for last year’s influx of almost one million migrants.

 

She has yet to say whether she will seek a fourth term as chancellor in elections next year.

 

What they are saying

 

“The overall picture of the investigation, in particular the amount of explosive found, suggests that the person was planning to carry out an Islamist-motivated attack,” – spokesman for the Federal Prosecutor’s Office.

 

“Germany is in the crosshairs of Islamist terror, just like France, Belgium or Britain. The threat is still high, though there are no concrete indications of planned attacks. We must be very careful,” – Stephan Mayer, lawmaker, Christian Social Union (CSU)

 

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2016-10-11

[ScotBkk]

This is the beginning of a long sad road of terror attacks after opening the floodgates by Merkel. The aftermath will soon come to light in months or years to come. I pray that sooner or later we see an end to this blight on people around the world by these insane terrorists.


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[Dagnabbit]

Comes to Germany, manages to source a large qty of explosives 12 months later.

Did that on his own did he?


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[waldroj]

Perhaps ThaiVisa were a bit hasty in releasing their article about al-Bakr yesterday (http://news.thaivisa.com/world/german-police-fail-to-capture-syrian-bomb-attack-suspect/156329/).

 

It would indeed appear that police in other countries do seem to be a bit more capable than their Thai counterparts when it comes to apprehending suspects (rather than issuing warrants and collecting rewards).

[webfact]

3 Syrians aid German police in alleged bomb plot suspect

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER

 

BERLIN (AP) — A Syrian man wanted for allegedly preparing a bombing attack was apprehended by three of his countrymen, who overpowered him, tied him up in their apartment, and then alerted police, authorities said Monday.

 

The overnight arrest of Jaber Albakr ended a nearly two-day nationwide search for the 22-year-old that German authorities launched after finding several pounds of explosives and components hidden inside an apartment in the eastern city of Chemnitz on Saturday.

 

Albakr arrived in Germany amid a flood of 890,000 asylum seekers last year. Saxony criminal police chief Joerg Michaelis said that the three Syrians who captured him recognized the suspect from wanted posters police posted online as part of the manhunt.

 

After taking him to their apartment late Sunday night, two of the Syrians bound and held Albakr while the third brought a mobile phone photo of Albakr to a local police station, leading to the arrest early Monday, Michaelis said.

 

Prosecutors and police said Monday that they considered Albakr an extremist with likely links to the Islamic State group. Germany's domestic intelligence agency had been watching him since September and alerted Saxony authorities about his alleged possible plot on Friday, authorities said.

 

When police raided the apartment in the city of Chemnitz where he was thought to be staying on Saturday, Albakr was able to flee. Inside the apartment they found 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds) of "extremely dangerous explosives" and components, according to federal prosecutors.

 

Criminal police chief Michaelis said that, at this stage of the investigation, "the behavior and actions of the suspect currently speak for an IS context." He didn't elaborate.

 

A security official said there was no indication yet that Albakr was being directed by the Islamic State group, but that investigators still were combing through seized evidence. The official wasn't authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and so spoke on condition of anonymity.

 

Police said it was not clear when and how the suspect met up with his three countrymen in Leipzig, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Chemnitz, or if they already knew him.

 

They would not release any further information about the three Syrians who apprehended Albakr. If the signs of his having an extremist background were substantiated, "the people who gave the tip are of course in danger," the police chief said.

 

Federal prosecutors, who handle terrorism investigations in Germany, said in a statement Monday they had no indications that a target already had been chosen for an attack.

 

Hans-Georg Maassen, the head of the domestic intelligence agency, later told ARD public broadcaster that their investigation suggests the suspect had "an eye on the Berlin airports" as potential targets.

 

A 33-year-old Syrian at whose Chemnitz apartment police found the hidden explosives was arrested over the weekend and is considered a co-conspirator in the alleged bomb plot, prosecutors said.

 

He was identified only as Khalil A. in keeping with German privacy laws. Albakr's full identity and photograph had been released while he was on the run and being sought.

 

The explosives were described as similar to the ones used in the deadly Nov. 13 attacks in Paris and the March 22 attacks in Brussels. Known as TATP, or triacetone triperoxide, it is fairly easy to make and detonate, police said.

 

"According to everything we know today, the preparations in Chemnitz are similar to the preparations for the attacks in Paris and Brussels," German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said.

 

A bomb squad destroyed the explosives Saturday in a pit outside the five-story apartment building because they were considered too dangerous to transport.

 

The incident comes amid ongoing concerns about the flood of asylum seekers that entered Germany last year and increasing support for populist parties with anti-migrant rhetoric.

 

The country also has been on edge since two attacks in July carried out by asylum seekers and claimed by the Islamic State group, in which multiple people were injured and the assailants were killed.

___

Geir Moulson, Frank Jordans and David Rising contributed from Berlin.

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-10-11

[SgtRock]

2 hours ago, Dagnabbit said:

Comes to Germany, manages to source a large qty of explosives 12 months later.

Did that on his own did he?


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Of course he did .

 

It would not be very PC and go against Government mantra to state the obvious that for every single terrorist there is a greater number of:

 

Logistical support

Active sympathisers

Passive sympathisers.

 

Just like to extend my thanks and gratitude to the 2 or 3 Syrians that held him and handed him over to the police, potentially saving lives. I just hope that Al Jaber the Hut was not a proverbial sacrificial lamb.

[Laughing Gravy]

One thing that I don't get is that the supposedly migrants are running away from a terrible and horrible regime but when coming to European countries for a supposedly 'new life' they insists on having all their own ways and cultures that were so terrible in the first place.

[ScotBkk]

One thing that I don't get is that the supposedly migrants are running away from a terrible and horrible regime but when coming to European countries for a supposedly 'new life' they insists on having all their own ways and cultures that were so terrible in the first place.

I agree
Probably miss all the noise. They're not really bombs in the mindset of certain people -- they're just acoustic provocations.



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[DM07]

Great!

Every single poster so far missed out on one tiny detail: the police was able to arrest him, because of the help of 3 other Syrian refugees!

But sure: you might have overlooked the fat bold headline, 3 posts up!

Here, I help you out:

  3 Syrians aid German police in alleged bomb plot suspect

You don't need to thank me- I learned it is polite to help out those, who can't help themselves...or something like that!

[goldenbrwn1]

54 minutes ago, DM07 said:

Great!

Every single poster so far missed out on one tiny detail: the police was able to arrest him, because of the help of 3 other Syrian refugees!

But sure: you might have overlooked the fat bold headline, 3 posts up!

Here, I help you out:

  3 Syrians aid German police in alleged bomb plot suspect

You don't need to thank me- I learned it is polite to help out those, who can't help themselves...or something like that!

Maybe they did. I really hope they did. But I just can't lose that feeling that maybe that's a bit of merkal spin. Remember how there was a media blackout in Germany new year, for the hundreds of sexual assaults on German women ? It took over a week to be reported. Merkal is on the ropes, even regretting her decision for an open door policy.    As I said, I really hope I'm wrong.

[baboon]

7 hours ago, ScotBkk said:

This is the beginning of a long sad road of terror attacks after opening the floodgates by Merkel. The aftermath will soon come to light in months or years to come. I pray that sooner or later we see an end to this blight on people around the world by these insane terrorists.


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Wrong. This will be the beginning of a long sad road of lone wolf attacks nobody could possibly have seen coming, carried out by the mentally ill and with no connections to each other...

[lungmi]

7 hours ago, ScotBkk said:

This is the beginning of a long sad road of terror attacks after opening the floodgates by Merkel. The aftermath will soon come to light in months or years to come. I pray that sooner or later we see an end to this blight on people around the world by these insane terrorists.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The terrorist was captured and arrested by syrian integrated refugees who organized by internet the chase in collaboration

with the police.

[DM07]

21 minutes ago, goldenbrwn1 said:

Maybe they did. I really hope they did. But I just can't lose that feeling that maybe that's a bit of merkal spin. Remember how there was a media blackout in Germany new year, for the hundreds of sexual assaults on German women ? It took over a week to be reported. Merkal is on the ropes, even regretting her decision for an open door policy.    As I said, I really hope I'm wrong.

I have some tinfoil to sell you!

And it is cheap, too!

[klauskunkel]

German government adapted Thai immigration playbook; Good Syrians in, Bad Syrians in

all right, something did get lost in translation

[Hayduke]

How about a few stories of Syrian taxi drivers finding large sums of money and promptly returning it all to the rightful owners.

[goldenbrwn1]

2 hours ago, DM07 said:

I have some tinfoil to sell you!

And it is cheap, too!

I was going to tell you to get back to your  'BLM' march or 'all refugees welcome' march but then I thought....No! I'm bigger than that. So how much for a roll of tin foil? Would prefer the heavy duty aluminium foil tbh, as that's probably what's needed for my crazy grasp on reality. 

Edited October 11, 2016 by goldenbrwn1

[DM07]

17 hours ago, goldenbrwn1 said:

I was going to tell you to get back to your  'BLM' march or 'all refugees welcome' march but then I thought....No! I'm bigger than that. So how much for a roll of tin foil? Would prefer the heavy duty aluminium foil tbh, as that's probably what's needed for my crazy grasp on reality. 

Sorry...already sold it to some other TVF- islamophobs with anti- Merckel conspiracies!

[Rancid]

Yeah, I've pondered why the Europeans (the US and Oz are ore resistant) are so delighted to embrace their traditional Muslim enemy, almost trying to outbid each other in welfare and free housing. Was it because of falling births that they wanted a replacement young and vibrant workforce? Seems unlikely as most Muslims worldwide are on welfare permanently.

 

The more paranoid side ponders whether it is to keep the war on terror as a permanent part of our lives. What better way to keep the population in a permanent state of fear than to have a society laced with potential killers. Freedoms get removed, security increases and finally we move to the Orwellian Security State, where politicians are embedded for life. Then no questions are ever asked as the new Feudal society is established in perpetuity. Back to the good old days of the Middle Ages.

 

Speaking of Middle Ages, anyone notice that at least back then poor and rich all took up arms to go to war, it was everyone in including often the King. The modern version is that the poor just do the dying while the rich gallivant at home in luxury often profiting from said war. Does anyone imagine we would even have wars anymore if the rich & political classes had to see their kids coming home in body bags?