http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1095939/posts Young Muslims in the Netherlands are being recruited for armed terrorism missions against Western targets, the Dutch secret service warned today.
In a note to parliament, the agency – known by its Dutch acronym AIVD - repeated its November 2002 warning that recruits are active in the Netherlands.
“It’s known that some stayed in a training camp. Others are involved in supporting Islamic terrorism-related activities like arranging money and passports,” the agency said.
“Still others are in turn trying to win over other potential recruits.”
Since the terror attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, 17 terrorism suspects have been tried in the Netherlands on the basis of information provided by the secret service, including 12 suspects accused of belonging to a recruitment ring. All were acquitted of major offences.
There has not been a terrorist attack in the Netherlands in recent years, although two young Dutch Muslims were killed in 2001 while apparently attempting an attack on Indian forces in the disputed, predominantly Muslim territory of Kashmir.
“In the past year and a half, there was a noticeable decrease in the age of the group of young men susceptible to recruitment,” the AIVD said.
“In some groups of young Muslims, the wish to take part in jihad appears to be part of youth culture.”
The agency said that some Islamic-interest Web sites frequented by young men appeared to be “fascinated with violence.”
“It definitely can’t be ruled out that some of these youths just want to make an impression on their peers with radical behaviour and statements,” the AIVD said.
The agency said it had also “established that some Muslim women, too, foster sympathetic feelings for the violent Islamic struggle. However, they don’t play a prominent role in recruiting, as far as is known.”