Syrian
refugee arrested in Germany on Monday after being tied up by three
compatriots was plotting to bomb a Berlin airport in the name of the
Islamic State group, the head of domestic intelligence said.
“We
have received information from the secret services that he initially
wanted to target trains in Germany before finally deciding on one of
Berlin’s airports,” Hans-Georg Maassen told German public TV channel
ARD.
While
some German media outlets over the weekend suggested the suspect, Jaber
Albakr, 22, had such a target in mind, this was the first official
confirmation.
The decision to arrest the suspect was taken Friday after he bought hot-melt glue.
“We thought this was the last chemical product he needed to make a bomb,” said Maassen.
Albakr
had narrowly slipped through the police net Saturday when commandos
raided his apartment and found 1.5 kilos (over 3 pounds) of TATP, the
homemade explosive used by jihadists in the Paris and Brussels attacks.
The
explosives were “almost ready, or even ready for use”, said Joerg
Michaelis, chief investigator in the eastern state of Saxony, adding
that the suspect was apparently preparing a “bomb, possibly in the form
of a suicide vest”.
– ‘He tried to bribe us’ –
After
a two-day manhunt, police finally got their man with the help of three
of Albakr’s fellow Syrians in the eastern city of Leipzig. (AFP)
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