Dutch police ‘foil terror plot to bomb a major event’

DUTCH police yesterday foiled what it described as an attempt to commit a major terrorist attack with AK-47 machine guns, grenades and a car bomb.

Officers arrested seven suspects, aged between 21 and 34, who planned to attack an event with guns and grenades, and detonate the car bomb in a different location.

Dutch prosecutors were tipped off by intelligence services who said the ringleader wanted to hit “a large event in the Netherlands where there would be a lot of victims”.

Counter-terror authorities said: “In the Netherlands, jihadist networks operate with the intention of planning attacks in Europe. These arrests must be seen in that light.”

The suspects were allegedly led by a 34-year-old man of Iraqi origin from Arnhem, who was convicted in 2017 for trying to travel to Isil-held territory. Two other suspects made similar attempts.

The suspects were arrested in Arnhem in the east of the Netherlands and in Weert, a region close to the Belgian border.

The men were arrested in raids led by Dutch anti-terror police, supported by helicopter and observation teams. They were found with five pistols after an investigation that lasted months.

Surveillance was stepped up this month as the suspects searched for grenades, raw materials for the car bomb and weapons including the Kalashnikov rifles. They were also looking for weapons training.

The current threat level in the Netherlands is set at four, which means the chance of an attack is real.

They will be brought before a court in Rotterdam today and are only being allowed contact with their lawyers.