Dutch police arrest 7 men suspected of plotting major 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 following a months-long investigation.
The national prosecutor’s office said in a statement that heavily armed police arrested the men in the towns of Arnhem, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of Amsterdam, and Weert in the southern Netherlands close to the borders of Germany and Belgium.
The investigation was launched by intelligence suggesting the alleged ring leader, a 34-year-old man of Iraqi heritage, wanted to carry out an attack at the site of a large event and cause multiple casualties, according to the statement.
The suspects allegedly wanted to use bomb vests and assault rifles to do harm at the event, and planned to detonate a car bomb at another location, prosecutors said. An investigation of potential targets was continuing.