A man armed with a knife stabbed one person to death and seriously injured another in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam last night. Police arrested a suspect, who suffered serious injuries and was taken to hospital. According to Dutch public broadcaster NOS, witnesses said the suspect shouted “Allahu u Akbar” (God is the greatest) during the attack. Police said their investigation was continuing and have appealed for witnesses to come forward. A sports teacher who was giving a class near the Erasmus Bridge where the attack took place told NOS that he managed to subdue the attacker with the help of two sticks. “I saw a man with two long knives stabbing a young man and in the end I managed to subdue him,” he told NOS.
A constant threat
In recent months, the terrorist threat in the Netherlands has increased again, influenced by various factors such as the conflict in Gaza, the desecration of the Quran and the persistent presence of jihadist networks. The alert level remains set at 4 on a scale of 1 to 5, indicating a real possibility that an attack could occur on Dutch soil. These data emerge from the latest assessment report on the terrorist threat in the Netherlands (DTN) published in June 2024. The document was prepared by the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV). The alert level had already been raised from 3 (significant) to 4 (substantial) last December. It should not be forgotten that around 300 people left the Netherlands to join extremist groups such as ISIS in Syria and Iraq between 2013 and 2020. Of these, a significant proportion were involved in combat, while others took on supporting roles. Around 60 of these fighters have been killed, while some have returned to the Netherlands. Dutch authorities monitor these individuals closely because of the potential risk that they may pose a threat to national security.
ISIS Khorasan Danger
Jihadism continues to pose the greatest threat to the Netherlands, with supporters constantly exposed to propaganda fuelled by images of the conflict in Gaza and Quran desecration in the country. Over the past six months, such images have inspired terrorist violence or the planning of terrorist acts both in the Netherlands and across Europe. Jihadist networks with roots in Europe pose an additional threat, sometimes operating autonomously or maintaining contact with groups such as ISIS active in other regions of the world. In particular, the Islamic State of Khorasan (ISKP), initially affiliated with ISIS in Afghanistan, has become a prominent player. Networks linked to ISKP, composed mainly of people from Central Asia, include former jihadist fighters active in Syria and Iraq. In addition, some individuals in the Netherlands and neighbouring countries are radicalising independently via the internet, outside of traditional jihadist networks. Some of these individuals are young and very young, and recent arrests in Europe demonstrate that some had planned or carried out terrorist attacks.
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