German police think bomb suspect had IS contacts

10 October 2016, 2:57 pm

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A police chief in eastern Germany says a young Syrian suspected of planning a bombing attack is believed to have Islamic State group contacts.

Saxony criminal police chief Joerg Michaelis also tells reporters in Dresden on Monday that 22-year-old Jaber Albakr had been on the radar of the country’s domestic intelligence agency since last month with “hints” he may be planning something.

Michaelis says at this stage of the investigation, “the behavior and actions of the suspect currently speak for an IS context.”

Albakr came to Germany as a refugee in 2015 and had been granted asylum.

Police say a fellow Syrian that Albakr approached at a train station led to his arrest early Monday.

— AP