Dutch police free Somalis detained after terror alert

Dec 28, 2010, 17:42 GMT

   Amsterdam - All but one of 12 Somalis detained in a Christmas Eve terrorist crackdown have been released, Dutch prosecutors said Tuesday.

An investigative judge ruled Tuesday that a 29-year-old man of Somali descent must remain in police custody for a further three days, while investigations continue.

Two Somalis, aged 47 and 44, are still considered suspects but there was not enough evidence to warrant their continued detention, prosecutors said.

There was nothing to link the other nine to terrorist activities, prosecutors added.

Police arrested the 12 men of Somali origin on December 24 in the port city of Rotterdam, following an alert by the secret service, the AVID.

   Police found no explosives or weapons in raids conducted at the same time as the arrests, despite a warning from the AIVD that a terrorist attack was imminent.

A report in the Dutch daily De Telegraaf on Tuesday said the suspects were believed to be planning to shoot down an military helicopter.

   The paper cited a 'reliable source' in AIVD, who said men were targeting the airbase of Gilze-Rijen, in the south of the country.

   The report claimed the men were planning to use a portable rocket launcher, which was to be imported from Belgium, Denmark or another European country.