Arrests prompt fears Netherlands is prime terror target

There are fears the Netherlands has become a prime target for terrorists following the arrest of 12 Somali nationals suspected of plotting an imminent strike.

The men were detained in Rotterdam on Christmas Eve following a tip off from security services.

Dutch counter-terrorism experts believe

the country’s former military role in Afghanistan under NATO and its anti-Muslim Freedom party may have made it more vulnerable.

The prosecutor leading the case Mr Gerrit van der Burg said: ‘‘We’re carrying out a large scale investigation in order to thwart the possibility of an impending attack. We don’t want to take any risks. It’s always uncertain if we’ve escaped a terrorist strike, but in this case we have removed the threat from these people.’‘

Since October, the Dutch Freedom Party, led by controversial politician Geert Wilders, has backed a restriction on immigration and a ban on the head-to-toe burka.

There is concern those moves, together with comments by Wilders, who has described Islam as a ‘fascist ideology’, could have angered extremists.

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