Hoax: 03/11 attack on Amsterdam shopping & entertainment center prevented

It seems to have been a complete hoax: an anonymous caller from a prepaid phone from Brussels said that exactly 5 years (60 months) after the Madrid train bombings on 03/11 (which was exactly 30 months after 09/11), a series of Al-Qaeda-style terrorist bomb attacks on a very busy shopping & entertainment area in Amsterdam is planned. It would include IKEA, the Heineken Music Hall, Media Market and a few more targets. Possibly killing 100s of people. Just imagine what would happen in a crowded Music Hall during a concert!

This anonymous tip from a Brussels' prepaid phone, brought the police into action, and a "cell" of seven persons is arrested. One of which, is a family member of one of the Marroccan perpetrators of the 03/11 Madrid bombings.

A crowded open society, trade and business oriented, like the Netherlands, with large Marroccan (partly Arab) communities, is extremely sensitive to Al Qaeda style attacks, but also to hoaxes. Especially, because of ongoing military involvement in the Afghanistan war, past military involvement in Irak, the Islam-critical movie of politician Geert Wilders whose party is virutally the number 1 party in the political polls. Happily, there was a lucky tip. And happily, there is dissent within the Arab communities about the sense of terrorist attacks for the Arabic and/or Islamic causes.

Although the Netherlands is not used to large-scale terrorist attacks - at least not since WWII and the Indonesian freedom war - the police and intelligence services have acted immediately and successfully upon the tip. Maybe overreacted? But betetr safe than sorry!