Dutch police: 7 arrested were plotting attack

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Seven men were arrested Thursday in the Netherlands on suspicion of plotting a large-scale extremist attack that Dutch prosecutors said they think was foiled after a monthslong investigation.

The national prosecutor’s office said police arrested the men in Arnhem, about 60 miles south of Amsterdam, and Weert in the southern Netherlands near the German and Belgium borders.

The investigation was launched by intelligence suggesting the alleged ring leader, a 34-year-old man of Iraqi heritage, wanted to attack a large public event, according to the statement.

The men were attempting to obtain assault rifles, handguns, bomb vests, grenades and raw materials for bombs and were looking for opportunities to train with such weapons, according to the statement.