It isn’t identified how many individuals had been initially being held
The Hague, Netherlands:
Three of the hostages being held in a restaurant in central Netherlands Saturday have been launched, police stated, however didn’t but sound the all-clear.
Authorities have evacuated the centre of the city of Ede since early morning, after a number of individuals had been held on the Cafe Petticoat.
“Three hostages have simply been launched. The scenario will not be over but,” police stated in a press release on X, previously Twitter.
Pictures on public broadcaster NOS confirmed three younger individuals leaving the constructing with their fingers within the air.
Police have stated there was at present no cause to suspect a “terrorist motive”.
“A horrible scenario for all these individuals. My concern and ideas exit to them and their family members. I hope that the scenario is now resolved shortly and safely,” stated Ede mayor Rene Verhulst.
It isn’t identified how many individuals had been initially held however native media have reported round 4 or 5 individuals are concerned.
Additionally it is not clear whether or not there have been hostages nonetheless within the cafe, which is widespread with younger individuals and hosted a celebration till the early hours of Saturday.
A number of native media reported {that a} “confused” man burst into the cafe and made threats.
Police cleared a cordon across the cafe, with residents of round 150 homes being dropped at security.
The native municipality stated on its web site that the city centre had been closed off and that riot police and explosives specialists had been on the scene.
Authorities known as on residents to keep away from the city centre and prepare site visitors was being diverted.
“We see there are various questions in regards to the motive. At the moment there isn’t any indication of a terrorist motive,” police stated.
Final yr, a 27-year-old man armed with two weapons held a number of individuals hostage at an Apple retailer in Amsterdam, sparking a tense five-hour ordeal.
That stand-off ended when the suspect was hit by a police automotive as he chased his final hostage who made a determined break for freedom and ran out of the shop.
He later died in hospital from his accidents.
The Netherlands has seen a sequence of terror assaults and plots however not on the size of different European international locations, corresponding to France or Britain.
In 2019, the nation was surprised by a capturing spree on a tram within the metropolis of Utrecht that claimed 4 lives.
In essentially the most critical incident involving a terror assault, outspoken Dutch anti-Islam movie director Theo van Gogh was shot and stabbed to demise in 2004 in Amsterdam by a person with ties to a Dutch Islamist terror community.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
