Syrian Suspect in Bomb Plot, Jaber Albakr, Kills Self

Jaber Albakr, 22, who was arrested in Germany for a suspected Islamic militant bomb plot killed himself in a prison cell in Leipzig on Wednesday, according to Saxony’s state Justice Ministry.

Justice Ministry spokesman Joerg Herold said Albakr killed himself sometime in the evening and the incident is still under investigation.

This development will surely raise pressure on state authorities. Saxony state officials have already been criticized for letting Albakr escape on Saturday as they prepared to raid an apartment in Chemnitz where he had been staying.

The suspected Islamic militant had been under German intelligence surveillance since last month. The authorities fired a warning shot when he was seen exiting the apartment building. Nevertheless, he was able to evade police on the scene and flee the city. Officers found highly volatile explosives and a home-made bomb vest inside the apartment.

Detained by fellow Syrians

Albakr was granted asylum after arriving in Germany last year. He was eventually arrested in Leipzig on Monday after three fellow Syrians tied him up and notified the police.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said earlier Wednesday that Albakr had undergone a security assessment. They did the evaluation last year but nothing suspicious turned up.

German authorities believe he had connections to the Islamic State group. Furthermore, as soon as this week, he was thought to be preparing to attack a Berlin airport.

According to reports from German media, after he first came to Germany, Albakr returned to Syria through Turkey and then went back to Germany. That part was also being investigated and De Maiziere said he would not comment on it.

The three Syrians who captured the suspect, in response to calls for their applications to be accelerated, have already been awarded asylum.

De Maiziere said that their behavior deserves praise and recognition

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Another Apartment Stormed in Germany in Hunt For Refugee Planning Bomb Attack

Police commandos held a man in connection with a hunt for a Syrian refugee believed of plotting a bomb attack. They assaulted his apartment in the eastern city of Chemnitz on Sunday.

Saxony state criminal investigation office spokesman Tom Berhardt said that there were no casualties and no shots were fired during the incident. They’ve taken the man into custody and are questioning him now.

In another apartment the police stormed in the city on Saturday, they found explosives but lost track of Jaber Albakr, the 22-year-old suspect. He slipped through their hold after police spotted him at the door of the apartment block.

The quantity of explosive discovered suggests that the person was preparing to carry out an Islamist-motivated attack, a Federal Prosecutor’s Office spokesman said.

The apartment the police raided on Saturday yielded several hundred grams of explosives.

Unpopular policy

This development is unwelcome news for German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Her open-door migrants policy has caused her conservatives to lose support to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Merkel said last month that she wished she could turn back time by several years. She wanted to better plan for last year’s inflow of close to one million refugees. The leader has yet to declare if she will pursue a fourth term as chancellor in next year’s election.

Islamic State claimed responsibility in July for attacks at a music festival in Ansbach and on a train near Wuerzburg.

Albakr is still at large with hundreds of police officers trying to track him down.

The government officially recognized Albakr as a refugee after he entered Germany last year. The police did not previously know him when they raided the first apartment after a tip-off from the domestic intelligence service.

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