GETTY Angela Merkel is being urged to toughen security measures for refugees entering Germany

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The chancellor who famously invited Syrian refugees to her homeland, sparking a mass influx, is being told to introduce tougher security checks on refugees entering Germany. The calls came after 22-year-old Jaber al-Bakr was arrested in the eastern city of Leipzig following a two-day hunt after he evaded arrest during a raid on a flat in nearby Chemnitz. At the property, several hundred grammes of explosives were found at the property. Police later revealed al-Bakr had “contacts” with ISIS. Interior minister Thomas de Maizière said the incident showed “an unchanged high level of threat because of international terrorism”. Roderich Kiesewetter, a CDU/CSU MP told the Financial Times: “There is a lot of understanding for Ms Merkel among voters. “But if there a terrorist attack, opinion could swing quickly further towards to the AfD.”

GETTY Germans have taken to the streets in protest over migrant issue as Merkel loses support

The Chancellor’s popularity took a huge dip recently leading to the ruling CDU/CSU conservative bloc losing support in the latest elections. Votes were lost to rightwing anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party, before Mrs Merkel finally admitted she may have got her stance on the crisis wrong. Mrs Merkel has since tightened the conditions for asylum-seekers in Germany and backed steps, such as the EU-Turkey migrant pact, to reduce the flow of people. Mr Kiesewetter, a security policy specialist, is calling for stricter controls on refugee alongside CDU/CSU MPs. The calls are over police and security agencies taking more steps to identify potential terrorist suspects. After two ISIS terror attacks in southern Germany, including an axe attack on a train near Würzburg and at a music festival in Ansbach that wounded 20 people, officials have warned the police must step up action. In September, German police arrested three Syrian men suspected of being deployed by Isis to carry out new terror attacks in Europe.

GETTY Syrian refugees are not heavily vetted enough when they get to Germany, MPs have said

Angela Merkel in pictures Tue, August 8, 2017 Angela Merkel has served as German Chancellor since 2005 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000. We take a look at her political career in pictures. Play slideshow AFP/Getty Images 1 of 83 Angela Merkel through the years

Mr Kiesewetter warned that it was impossible to guarantee that there would not be a much larger incident. Stephan Mayer, CDU/CSU interior affairs spokesman, said on television: “Germany is in the crosshairs of Islamist terror, just like France, Belgium or Britain … The threat is still high, though there are no concrete indications of planned attacks. We must be very careful.” There are also calls for those already in Germany to be checked out, especially from Horst Seehofer, head of the Bavaria-based CSU and a constant critic of Mrs Merkel’s liberal approach. But Germany has strict rules about the sharing of personal information between government agencies, especially the security services. Politicians are now asking for the rules to be relaxed. Al-Bakr, who arrived in Germany as a refugee in 2016, was arrested after a Syrian man contacted police.

GETTY Angela Merkel has been heavily criticised after Syrian refugee found with explosives