Dutch Detain Possible Terror Suspects at Schiphol Airport

Dutch authorities continue to investigate two U.S. residents of Yemeni descent detained in Amsterdam on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a terrorist act on Tuesday.

Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al-Soofi and Hezam al-Murisi set off alarms early Monday after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security found suspicious items in the men’s luggage and alerted Dutch authorities.

The men, in route to Amsterdam from Chicago O’Hare on United Flight 908, were carrying mobile phones that had been taped together, a mobile phone taped to a full Pepto-Bismol bottle, three large knives, and $7,000 in cash.


Other red flags were set off when both men changed their travel itineraries when they arrived in Chicago on Sunday. The men changed their travel destination to Dubai, a U.S. law-enforcement official said.

However, one of the men’s luggage followed his original itinerary and traveled to Washington’s Dulles airport. It was there that U.S. officials discovered items deemed as suspicious.

Dutch authorities detained two Yemeni men hours later at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.

According to U.S. officials, security policies only make a point to match passengers with their checked bags if the flight is international, because then luggage is screened for explosives. 

For domestic flights, this security policy is not in place, explaining why one of the men’s checked bags continued on the original itinerary, while he headed to Dubai.

Officials also have also reported that the two men were seated near each other on the Amsterdam flight.

A decision whether or not to charge the two men will be made in the next few days, the Dutch prosecution service said. Under Dutch law, suspected terrorists can be held for up to six days before being charged.

However, U.S. officials are making it very clear that both men have yet to be accused of wrongdoing. Though initially officials suspected the two men might be doing a dry-run for a future terrorist plot, those fears are now being played down.

U.S. officials are cautioning that the men could be the victims of a series of coincidences creating false alarms.

According to a U.S. law-enforcement official, scheduling issue with the airline appeared to be the reason why the men decided to change their flights. The same official also noted that passengers with large sums of cash aren’t unusual on flights with international destinations.

If Dutch police investigators find reasons to charge the two men, however, this will be the second time in less than a year that Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport has been the scene of a thwarted terrorist plot.

In Christmas of 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian student, was arrested in Schiphol on a flight headed to Detroit. He was caught with explosives in his underwear.

By Adriana Padilla at PeterGreenberg.com.

Related Links: Reuters, Wall Street Journal

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