Syrians nab bomb suspect
BERLIN — 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, then alerted police, authorities said.
The arrest of Jaber al-Bakr ended a two-day search for the 22-year-old that authorities launched after finding several kilograms of explosives and components hidden inside an apartment in Chemnitz on Saturday.
Al-Bakr arrived in Germany amid 890,000 asylum seekers last year. Saxony criminal police chief Joerg Michaelis said the three Syrians who captured him recognized the suspect from wanted posters police posted online.
After taking him to their apartment late Sunday night, two of the Syrians bound and held al-Bakr while the third brought a mobile phone photo of al-Bakr to a local police station.
Prosecutors and police said Monday they considered al-Bakr an extremist with likely links to ISIL.
When police raided the apartment in Chemnitz where he was thought to be staying on Saturday, al-Bakr was able to flee.