Dutch police foil terrorist attack at concert

DUTCH police arrested a 22-year-old man early yesterday on suspicion of preparing a terror attack on a concert by an American rock band.

The arrest in Brabant, south of Rotterdam, came after a tip-off from Spanish police. Officers had already cancelled a performance on Wednesday night by the Los Angeles band Allah-las at a converted grain silo in the heart of the port city.

“The suspicion is that the suspect is involved in the preparation of a terrorist attack,” said Frank Paauw, the city’s police chief.

“There is no terror threat now anymore, because the information about the threat was so specific on the location of the event that, with that arrest, we can conclude the threat is gone.”

Police searched the man’s home but released no details of anything they found. His identity was not released, in line with Dutch privacy guidelines.

He was being questioned by police and prosecutors.

The arrest came hours after a Spanish mechanic was detained while driving a white van containing gas canisters close to the concert venue.

Explosives experts who combed through the van’s contents found a few gas canisters but nothing suspicious.

He was apparently drunk and was to be questioned once he sobered up, police said. However, he did not appear to be a terror suspect and police said a search of his home uncovered nothing to indicate he was linked to the threat.

Dick Schoof, Dutch counterterror coordinator, commended the police action on Twitter, saying it was “alert, appropriate for the current threat level”.