The three men arrested in the Dutch city of Rotterdam on New Year's eve were planning an attack on the crowds attending the New Year celebrations around the city's Erasmus Bridge, Dutch paper De Telegraaf reported Thursday.
Quoting "well informed sources" involved in the investigation, the paper said the timely intervention averted a big disaster. The party around the bridge was attended by more than 15,000 people. Security would have been practically impossible.
The three men in their 30s, two with dual Dutch and Moroccan nationality and one alleged to be an illegal immigrant from Sudan, are currently in police custody.
Although there has been widespread speculation over whether the suspects were planning a terrorist attack, the security service and public prosecution office only said the men were suspected of planning an attack in the near future.
The three suspects were arrested at three addresses in Rotterdam West by heavily armed special police forces just hours before the new year celebrations began. They had been under surveillance for weeks by the Dutch intelligence services and the Rotterdam police.
After the arrest, the authorities announced a ban on people actually standing on the bridge itself on the New Year's eve.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article