Bomb plot suspect in Germany 'had contact with IS'

A Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack before his arrest in Germany is believed to have had contact with the Islamic State group.

Jaber Albakr, a 22-year-old refugee who arrived in Germany last year, was detained in the eastern city of Leipzig after being on the run for two days.

Officers found "several hundred grams" of a volatile explosive at his flat - enough to cause significant damage - but he managed to flee from the property in the city of Chemnitz on Saturday.

He was eventually recognised by three other Syrians thanks to photos released by police during a nationwide manhunt.

Albakr had sought refuge with the trio, but instead of sheltering him they tied him up and called police.

One of them went to a local police station with a photograph of him in captivity.

"The suspect was handed over to us bound," said Saxony criminal police chief Joerg Michaelis.

"The behaviour and actions of the suspect currently speak for an IS context."

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

Prosecutors said there is no evidence that Albakr had chosen a target, but he had been searching online for instructions on how to make explosives and "equipment for jihad" at least since the beginning of the month.

The weekend raid came after Saxony police were given a tip from Germany's domestic intelligence service that Albakr may be planning an attack.

He had been on the agency's radar since last month.

Germany authorities said Albakr, who is originally from Damascus, had come to Germany among 890,000 migrants who entered the country in 2015 and had been granted asylum.

The suspicion that a refugee was planning a bomb attack will pile further pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose open-door migration policy has been fiercely criticised.

Her Christian Democrats have lost support to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party over immigration.

Germany has been on edge since two attacks this summer claimed by IS in which multiple people were injured and both assailants died.

Two other attacks unrelated to Islamic extremism, including a deadly mall shooting in Munich, have also heightened tensions.