Behind the Dutch terror threat

Radio Netherlands ^ | July 22 2004

[knighthawk]

A chance arrest in the city of Rotterdam and tapped telephone conversations were both key factors behind the move to the heightened terrorist alert that has been in place in the Netherlands since 9 July.

On Wednesday, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service and Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that a 17-year-old Dutch Muslim youth had been arrested on 30 June on suspicion of involvement in a raid on a supermarket. A subsequent search of his home allegedly led to the discovery of a number of items which, while they had nothing to do with "ordinary" crime, could be connected with possible terrorist plans; sketches and details of buildings and their locations.

On 8 July, a Rotterdam court ruled that the youth was to remain in custody. Just one day later, the authorities issued the announcement concerning the increased risk of possible terrorist attacks and implemented tighter security measures at a number of "specific locations" in the provinces of North Holland, South Holland, Zeeland and North Brabant. On 16 July, the potential targets were described as "certain government buildings and busy locations".

Pure coincidence Some sources claim that the Dutch Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) had been monitoring the 17-year-old arrestee for some time. However, statements made to Radio Netherlands by sources within the AIVD appear to confirm that his arrest and the subsequent discovery of the suspect documents were a stroke of luck.

The authorities are meanwhile stressing that the arrest of the youth was not the only reason for moving parts of the country to a heightened terrorist alert. Both the AIVD and the Interior Ministry have said that "other information from within the Netherlands and abroad" has also played a part. The fact that the youth is now in custody also appears not to have resulted in any review of the assessment of the threat or change in the level of security now in place.

Tip-off from Rome According to an American source, this "other information" refers in particular to tapped telephone conversations made by an Egyptian national, who is believed to have direct links with al-Qaeda and to have been one of the team which organised the 11 March train attacks in Madrid, in which almost 200 people lost their lives. The man in question is Ravei Osman Sayed Ahmed (33), who was arrested in Rome on 7 June. His fingerprints were reportedly found at the house in Madrid where the bombs used in the attacks were assembled.

Risk remains and grows Italian security officers monitored the Egyptian's telephone calls for a period of some three months prior to his arrest. Stratfor, a commercial intelligence company based in Houston, Texas, says that information obtained from these calls led to the heightened alert in the Netherlands. Stratfor also quotes anonymous sources inside the US intelligence community as saying that the risk of Islamic militants carrying out attacks in the Netherlands continues to grow. The same sources also appear to have said that the Dutch authorities only began to take the threat of attacks inside the Netherlands seriously after the Madrid attacks took place.

[knighthawk]

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