Pat Dollard

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Poli Gazette:

Bomb scare in Amsterdam

By: Michael van der Galien

Early this morning, police surrounded furniture shop Ikea and told employees to get out after it received a tip about a possible bomb attack.

Police rushed to the scene – the store was still closed at the moment they arrived.

No details about the bomb scare are known yet. Was it a sick kind of practical joke? Perhaps it was more than that – a test?

Or was there truly a threat?

RTL Nieuws implies there may have been, or may still be: the Heineken Music Hall (a concert hall) remains closed, for instance, and several suspects have been arrested. Police are currently searching the suspects’ homes.

Amsterdam Mayor Cohen says the threat was aimed at stores. What stores exactly remains unclear. The offices, however, have not been closed. Reporters asked Cohen about this – why not also evacuate offices? – he answered that the threat was only aimed at shops. Shops, he said, attract more people.

It’s a strange thing to say considering the fact that people also work in office buildings. If the threat is serious – and I’m getting the impression it is considering the arrests – offices too should be evacuated and sealed.

MAJOR UPDATE

Seven individuals from Moroccan heritage were arrested. One of them is a relative of one of those who committed a major terrorist attack in Madrid, Spain, in 2004.

Shops remain closed, as does the Heineken Music Hall.

ANOTHER UPDATE

Police responded to a tip from someone in Brussels, Belgium. The tipster said extremists planned to set off bombs in several shops in order to kill as many innocent civilians as possible. The Dutch intelligence bureau responded immediately, arresting the seven individuals.