Dutch anti-terrorism police arrest suspect at France’s request

Dutch anti-terrorism police on Sunday arrested a 32-year-old man in Rotterdam on suspicion of preparing an attack on France and also detained three other people, national prosecutors said.

“French authorities on Friday requested the arrest of the French citizen, who had been identified in a terrorism investigation,” prosecutors said in a statement. He was suspected of “involvement in preparing a terrorist attack”.

The arrests were carried out by a specialized anti-terrorism police squad, and the Dutch intelligence agency AIVD and prosecutors also took part in the operation, prosecutors said.

Two of the others detained were described as aged 43 and 47 and “having an Algerian background” while the third had not yet been identified.

Police were searching two addresses in western Rotterdam associated with the suspect, and people living in nearby buildings had been evacuated as a precautionary measure, prosecutors said.

The suspect will be extradited to France as quickly as possible, prosecutors said.