ISIS-linked, 22 year-old Syrian terrorism suspect was handed over to German police

German investigators said Monday a 22-year-old Syrian who is accused of planning a terrorist attack had links to the Islamic State group, and was handed over to police after being bound and held captive by three other Syrians.
There was an “IS context” to the attacks planned by Jaber al-Bakr and an alleged accomplice, said Joerg Michaelis, who heads up the criminal investigation office of the eastern state of Saxony where he was arrested.

“The approach and behaviour of the suspect indicated an IS context,” Michaelis told a press conference. Al-Bakr had been searching the internet for information on explosives, he said.

Al-Bakr appeared before the court in the eastern city of Dresden after being arrested overnight in a raid on an apartment in nearby Leipzig.

Police launched a manhunt for Al-Bakr on Saturday after discovering what authorities said was 1.5 kilograms of dangerous explosives and other material – similar to that used in attacks in Paris and Brussels – in an apartment in a housing block in Chemnitz.

An alleged accomplice, identified as Khalil A., has also been taken into custody.

However, it remains unclear what were the possible targets of the plot.

Al-Bakr had sought refuge in the Leipzig apartment of another Syrian, who he met at the city’s railway station.

After recognizing al-Bakr from official material about the search the Syrian turned up at a Leipzig police station and showed them a mobile phone photo of al-Bakr.

Police later stormed the Leipzig apartment where they found al-Bakr tied up with two people standing guard over him, Michaelis said.

“The suspect was bound when handed over to us,” said Michaelis.

Source: /About Croatia