Terror suspect commits suicide in German jail

A migrant suspected of planning a bomb attack on a Berlin airport has killed himself in his prison cell in Germany's Leipzig city, police said.

Saxony's state justice ministry said Jaber Albakr, a 22-year-old Syrian refugee was found dead on Wednesday.

He was taken into custody on Monday on suspicion he was planning an imminent terrorist attack, EFE news reported.

Der Spiegel magazine reported on that the prisoner had begun a hunger strike and was placed on suicide watch.

German intelligence had indications that Albakr might have been preparing to carry out an attack "this week", the head of the BfV domestic security agency, Hans-Georg Maassen said.

Authorities moved to arrest Albakr last week, but he managed to elude them and flee his residence in the city of Chemnitz.

Police found explosives and detonators in the residence.

Using an internet chat room, the suspect arranged temporary lodging for himself with other Syrian refugees in Leipzig, about an hour away from Chemnitz.

But when his hosts realized Albakr was being sought by police, they tied him up and handed him over to authorities early Monday morning.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Wednesday that officials were still trying to determine when Albakr became radicalised.

He first arrived in Germany in February 2015 and was granted refugee status in June after a background check uncovered nothing that raised suspicions.

Albakr traveled twice to Turkey last year and made at least one visit to the Syrian city of Idlib.

--IANS

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