German police launch manhunt for Syrian believed to be planning bomb plot

German police are looking for a Syrian suspected to have been planning a bombing after a raid on the apartment, where he was thought to be, turned up nothing.

Police raided the apartment in the eastern city of Chemnitz after receiving information from Germany's domestic intelligence agency on Friday night about the alleged attack plans.

Saxony police identified the suspect as 22-year-old Jaber Albakr from Damascus, and urged anyone with any information of his whereabouts to contact authorities.

They released a photo of the suspect, a dark-haired man wearing a hooded sweatshirt, and said he was last seen wearing similar clothes.

Authorities released no further details about the suspect or how long he had been in Germany.

The country took in 890,000 asylum seekers last year, and Syrians fleeing civil war in their homeland made up the single largest group.

Neighbours reported hearing an explosion during the raid, but that was the police assault team blowing open the apartment's door, said police.

Officers found nobody in the apartment and would not say whether any explosives had been found but the investigation is continuing.

Germany has been in a state of high tension since two attacks this summer claimed by the Islamic State in which many people were injured and both assailants died.

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