Dutch arrest 18-year-old terror suspect
Dutch police are holding an 18-year-old terror suspect who may have tried to teach others how to make explosives, prosecutors revealed Wednesday.
The teenager was arrested in the central city of Utrecht last Thursday, and is also suspected of “spreading ISIS propaganda including violent videos,” Utrecht prosecutors said in a statement.
“Police are also investigating indications that he may have instructed others how to make explosives,” the statement added, referring to the Islamic State jihadist group, also known as ISIS.
Police opened their probe after receiving information from the Dutch intelligence service (AIVD), which was remaining tight-lipped Wednesday.
The teenager “was arrested last week for distributing ISIS propaganda online,” an AIVD official told AFP, asking not to be identified, and declining to provide further details.
The teenager appeared before a Rotterdam court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody for two weeks.
The Netherlands has so far been spared from the slew of terror attacks which have rocked its closest European neighbours recently, including an explosion late Tuesday at Brussels’ Central Station.
But amid a number of scares here in recent months, and reports that people linked to some previous attacks in Brussels and Paris may have crossed briefly into the country, top Dutch security and intelligence officials have been keeping a wary eye on events.
According to the Dutch counter-terrorism agency at least 280 people, a third of them women, have left the Netherlands to fight in Iraq and Syria.
By May 2017, 45 had returned and 45 had been killed, leaving about 190 who are still thought to be in the Middle East.
“An increased number of returnees will most likely strengthen the jihadist movement within the Netherlands and therefore increase the threat posed by this group,” the agency warned last year.
