Posted on 11/12/2004 8:04:32 PM PST by Ginifer
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch authorities have launched an international hunt for a Syrian man they believe is the leader of a radical Muslim network, prosecutors said on Friday.
"There is what we believe is a Syrian," prosecution spokesman Wim de Bruin said when asked about further investigations following a string of arrests of suspected Islamist extremists in the Netherlands.
"There is an international search for him. We think he is the leader of a network of radical Muslims," he added.
De Bruin declined to give further details, but Dutch media have referred to a 43-year-old Syrian suspected of involvement in the murder of Dutch film maker Theo Van Gogh, threats against a politician and of planning attacks on government buildings.
The media has said a Syrian had contact with Mohammed B., the man accused of murdering Van Gogh, who had made a film critical of Islam.
The Netherlands has been on a state of high alert since Van Gogh was killed on Nov. 2 by a suspected Islamic militant over the film about violence against women in Muslim society.
An Amsterdam court on Friday extended the detention of 26-year-old Dutch-Moroccan Mohammed B. and four others who have been charged with belonging to a terrorist group and conspiracy to murder.
Magistrates also ordered seven other people arrested on Wednesday to remain in custody for the next 10 days.
MURDER PLOT
Prosecutors suspect two of the men who were arrested in a dramatic raid in The Hague were plotting murder and a newspaper said one of them wrote he was ready for a martyr's death.
The two men, Dutch nationals aged 19 and 22, were arrested after a 14-hour standoff with police in which the suspects threw a grenade, wounding four officers.
Dutch media reported that the 19-year-old was Jason Walker -- the son of a Dutch woman and a U.S. soldier -- who converted to Islam five years ago. De Telegraaf daily said he had left a note suggesting he was ready to die for "jihad" or holy war.
They and four others face charges of membership of a terrorist organization. The seventh man arrested on Wednesday, from Amsterdam, is accused of involvement in Van Gogh's killing.
Interior Minister Johan Remkes told parliament on Thursday the raids had foiled a new attack.
De Telegraaf said Walker was a friend of Mohammed B. and was linked to a group of radical Muslims that he was involved in. Prosecutors made no comment and have declined to say if the arrests on Wednesday were linked to Van Gogh's death.
The murder has prompted a spiral of revenge attacks on mosques, churches and religious schools. There were more reports of minor arson attacks on Friday.
It looks as if this murder has caused the Dutch to pick up a rock and look at what's under it.
I wonder why they refuse to give a name or a description of the suspect for whom they are organizing an "international hunt"? Surely the suspect knows he is suspected.
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