Prosecutors say four young suspects planned machine-gun attack

A 16-year-old from Rotterdam remains in custody in an investigation into the preparation of a terrorist attack. The pre-trial detention of three other suspects, from Eindhoven, Alkmaar and De Rijp, has also been extended. All four were arrested last summer.

Justice authorities say messages between the four show they planned an attack with machine guns, possibly in the Netherlands. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) says the four were radicalised under the influence of a hate preacher whom it describes as one of the biggest IS recruiters in Europe.

At the first hearing it emerged that the suspects were actively looking for Kalashnikovs and Glocks in the weeks before their arrest. Police found conversations about actually using the weapons, in which the suspects talked about “spraying” and “shooting”.

The arrests followed a tip-off from the AIVD to the police. Three suspects, aged 16 to 19, were arrested in a single night. An 18-year-old was arrested a week later.

The investigation is well advanced but not finished, and some seized devices still have to be examined. In court the prosecutor said: “Experience shows that the contents of virtually every seized device can eventually be examined.” The next hearing is in mid-January.