Police raid Utrecht home of jihadi suspect with links to Verviers cell

Police in Utrecht have raided the family home of an 18-year-old jihadi suspect and confiscated laptops and telephones, officials said on Tuesday.

The teenager is suspected of being involved in a Belgium-based terror cell raided by police in the town of Verviers last week.

According to the Dutch public prosecution department, the suspect’s passport was found in Verviers during the anti-terrorist action.

Broadcaster Nos said earlier that sources had named Zaid K as the Dutch national involved in the cell. K has been missing for ‘some time’ and according to Spanish media, he and another man may have fled to Spain, Nos says.

The Verviers group were under police observation for several weeks before last week’s raids. Two suspects were shot dead and another was injured.

The Belgian authorities have not issued any information about their identities.

Deaths

Meanwhile, broadcaster RTV Noord Holland says a 27-year-old man from Huizen has been killed in Syria while fighting with radical Islamic forces.

He is said to be the brother of Rachid E, who was arrested last year with his wife and child to stop them leaving for Syria.

On Monday, it was confirmed that a 17-year-old youth from Amsterdam was also killed in an American bombardment of IS positions.