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German police capture Syrian bomb plot suspect in Leipzig

German police say they have captured a Syrian man who is suspected of planning a bomb attack. Inv...
Newstalk
Newstalk

07.10 10 Oct 2016


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German police capture Syrian b...

German police capture Syrian bomb plot suspect in Leipzig

Newstalk
Newstalk

07.10 10 Oct 2016


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German police say they have captured a Syrian man who is suspected of planning a bomb attack.

Investigators said they were "tired but overjoyed" after detaining Jaber Albakr, a refugee who was originally from Damascus, in the city of Leipzig.

A nationwide manhunt was launched after Albakr's flat in the eastern city of Chemnitz was raided and police found "several hundred grams" of a volatile explosive - but no sign of the 22-year-old.

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Another Syrian was taken into custody after Saturday afternoon's raid on suspicion he could be a co-conspirator.

Although officials say a relatively small amount of explosives were found, it would have been enough to cause significant damage.

Experts have been trying to determine whether the substance is the explosive known as TATP, which was used in the terror attacks seen in Paris and Brussels.

Security at airports and ports was stepped up during the two-day manhunt for Albakr, but a national and international search has now ended.

Saxony police had been informed by Germany's domestic intelligence service that Albakr may have been planning an attack - and although he was already on the agency's radar, it is not clear for how long.

Local media reports said he left his five-storey apartment block in Chemnitz while police were at the scene preparing their raid - and it is not immediately clear how he managed to avoid officers.


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