THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Authorities detained seven suspects in an anti-terrorism operation Friday in three Dutch cities, including the capital, officials said. The suspects, ranging from 18- to 30-years-old, were detained in The Hague, Amsterdam and Almere. They will be brought before an investigating judge Monday.The chief suspect in the raids was Samir Azzouz, a 19-year-old Dutch national of Moroccan descent who was acquitted of terrorism charges earlier this year. Azzouz was in the process of purchasing automatic weapons and explosives "probably to carry out an attack with others on several politicians and a government building," a prosecution statement said.
As part of a security operation, about two dozen officers in riot gear closed entrances leading to both houses of parliament and the government's information service. The weekly Cabinet meeting, however, went ahead as scheduled.
Police declined to confirm media reports of gunfire in The Hague's largely immigrant Schilderswijk neighborhood, where a hand grenade exploded during the arrest of two terrorist suspects last year, following van Gogh's murder.