Dutch arrest two terror suspects

Dutch police have arrested two men in Europe's biggest port city on suspicion of preparing a terror attack, prosecutors said today.

The two, aged 22 and 27, were detained on Sunday evening in Rotterdam, following a tip-off from the country's intelligence services.

"They are suspected of preparing a terrorist crime and being part of a terrorist organisation," the prosecution service said in a statement.

During searches of the suspects' home "telephones, USB sticks and other data carriers were seized," it added.

The two were today remanded for two weeks in custody with restricted access, meaning they can only have contact with their lawyer.

The latest arrests came after Dutch police arrested three men on Monday in different cities, including northern Groningen and Zaanstad near Amsterdam.

Their DNA had been found on weapons seized in a Paris suburb when law officers foiled a planned 2016 terror attack.

The Netherlands has so far been spared from the slew of terror attacks which have rocked its closest European neighbours in past years.

But amid a number of scares and reports that people linked to some of the attacks may have crossed briefly into the country, concerned top Dutch security and intelligence officials have stressed the threat level is substantial.