Feed: Dutch cops nab 12 suspected Somali terrorists - AggScore: 12.9

Dutch cops nab 12 suspected Somali terrorists

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caption id alignalignleft width160 captionDutch police special ops unit responds to latest terrorism threat in Holland. Photo Daily Mirror img srchttpcdn2b.examiner.comsitesdefaultfilesstyleslargehashed63ed637cc863e5abc3bd98375064fd1465.jpg alt width160 height132 captionPolice officerson Christmas Eve arrested 12 suspected terroristsfor plotting a terrorist attack in the Netherlands,according to Dutch law enforcementofficials.The twelve suspects,between the ages of19 and50, were arrested late on Friday after a message was received from the Dutch intelligence and security service, the prosecutors said in a statement.The messageinformed Dutch authoritiesthat a number of Somali nationalswereplotting to perpetrate a terrorist attack in the Netherlands in the near future, according to prosecutors.Aretail shop and four houses in Rotterdam were searched by counterterrorism teams including forensic specialists, as well as two motel rooms in the village ofGilzeRijen.During the searches, police commandersstated theyfound no weapons, explosives or incendiary devices. Six suspectsresided in Rotterdam, whilefive of the suspected terroristsdid not appear tohave a home address. One of the men arrested is believed to be a resident ofDenmark, police reported.Counterterrorism experts in the Netherlands believe the suspects are linked to the Somali terrorist organization Al Shabaab, a group affiliated with alQaeda.The Dutch arrests follow an Islamic terrorist case in which British police detectiveslast Monday December 20captured 12 suspected terrorists as a result of INTERPOL warnings regarding possible Christmas bomb attacks in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other European nations.The suspects, Muslim males aged between 17 and 28, were detained in London, Birmingham, Cardiff, and Trent and charged with suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism in the U.K., security officials said.Police and MI5 searches began after the arrests at several locations, with detectives and forensic technicians seeking evidence of terrorism such as materials that could be used to make improvised explosive devices.Interpol had issued an allpointsbulletin last week that told its more than 180 member nations that it received information... from the Interpol office in Baghdad about possible threats, especially in the U.S. and Europe, due to orders given to alQaeda cells by alQaeda commanders.According to a report obtained by the Terrorism Committee of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, Interpol knew about the recentsuicide bombing in Stockholm prior to the blast.During that attack, a suspected al Qaeda attacker detonated a car bomb then killed himself in a separate explosion.Fortunately, there were no deaths and only two people sustained injuries.Swedish police identified that attacker as Iraqiborn Taimour Abdulwahab al Abdaly, who allegedly was trained by an alQaeda cell in the Britain. Warnings about further possible attacks also came from Iraqi government officials.A member of the NYPDs detective bureau told this writer that a possible terrorist target would be a large public venue with large crowds of people in metropolitan areas. Among the holiday security measures is thewider use of bombsniffing dogs in transit systems, airports, shopping malls and other public places throughout the U.S.