Terrorist threat level remains substantial in the Netherlands: report

The threat of a terrorist attack in the Netherlands remains substantial, the Dutch counter-terrorism service announced Monday, warning of the likelihood of new terrorist attacks occurring in European countries in the short term.

"The chance of an attack in the Netherlands is real. However, there are no concrete indications that terrorists are making preparations to commit an attack," said the Dutch National Coordinator for Counter-terrorism and Security (NCTV) in a new report published Monday.

The Dutch counter-terrorism service warned there were increasing links of trans-national terrorist networks with the Netherlands. The current threat level in the country is level 4 on a scale of 5.

The "jihadist" movement has hundreds of supporters and a large number of sympathizers in the Netherlands. A total of approximately 260 Dutch nationals have travelled to Syria or Iraq since 2012. About 40 of them have returned and 42 have been killed. At present, there are still about 170 Dutch nationals in Syria and Iraq, including women and minors.

The "jihadist" threat remains the main terror threat, although the likelihood of violent incidents from left and right-wing extremism has increased since 2015. Factors such as the the arrival of refugees and the fear of terrorism have contributed to the increase of violent acts, the report said.

Referring to the Islamic State (IS) attacks in Paris in November 2015, Brussels in March this year, and in Istanbul in June, the report warned, "attacks like these, but smaller-scale attacks can take place again in the short term."

Even after arrests of individuals from the network that carried out the Paris and Brussels attacks, there are probably several IS cells present in Europe said the report, noting also that IS operatives appeared to remain undetected for a long time by the European authorities.

According to the report, arrests and house searches conducted in various European countries have led to valuable information on the "jihadist" networks in Europe, but it warned that the perpetrators of new attacks might avoid these specific networks. It also noted there was still not much known about the people in Syria who play a coordinating role in carrying out attacks in Europe.

As well, non-jihadist, often criminal, networks played an important role in the preparation or execution of attacks by "jihadists", the report noted.

Although it is mainly adult men who carry out attacks in both Syria and Iraq as well as in the West, the possibility that women and children will carry out attacks in the West is increasing due to the increasing pressure IS is under.

Despite the decrease in IS-controlled territory in Iraq and Syria, the terror organization is far from defeated, the report said. Endit