Manhunt underway in Germany for Syrian bomb suspect

World Today

Germany RaidPolice officers leave an apartment after detonations in the eastern city of in Chemnitz, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. German investigators found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided Saturday in the eastern city of Chemnitz as they sought a Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack. The suspect remained on the run but three contacts were detained and being questioned, police said. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

A manhunt is under way in Germany for a Syrian man, who police say was plotting an attack.

They say the suspect is from Damascus. Officers, acting on a tip, raided his home in the city of Chemnitz, from where CCTV’s Guy Henderson reports.

The initial panic has passed in Chemnitz, but there’s still a heavy police presence.

Several blocks remained on lockdown after police found explosives during an early morning raid.

A manhunt is underway for Jaber Albakr, a 22-year-old Syrian. German intelligence services believe he was about to carry out a bomb attack.

Through the day, several hundred officers scoured the surrounding area to no avail.

Police temporarily detained two people at Chemnitz central station earlier, but there’s no sign of the suspect himself on the unusually quiet streets of this small German town.

There is also no indication of whether he may still be carrying explosives with him.

In July, Germany was shaken by two attacks carried out by migrants pledging allegiance to Islamic State.

Authorities suspect Albakr, too, had Islamist links, which could raise tensions in a region where the backlash against Germany’s asylum policies has sometimes turned violent.