A 15-year-old girl from Sittard has been arrested on suspicion of being a member of a terrorist gang, the Telegraaf says on Wednesday, quoting ‘well-informed sources’.

The girl, said to be of Somali origin, has lived in Sittard for some time with her mother and brother. She is currently being held in isolation in a youth detention centre and will appear in court in Roermond on Thursday, the paper says.

The paper’s sources say the girl has been questioned three times about her involvement in ‘criminal practices’. They say the girl is officially suspected of being a member of a criminal organisation that plans to commit terrorist offences.

Her lawyer Björn Brinkman has confirmed the girl was arrested on September 3 but told the Telegraaf he was not allowed to make any further comments because of the legal restrictions placed on the investigation.

Police sources told the paper the case is in some ways similar to the arrest of Muslim convert Aicha from Maastricht. She was arrested on suspicion of being a member of a terrorist organisation after returning home from Syria. That case was eventually abandoned because of a lack of evidence.

According to local broadcaster 1Limburg.nl, a 24-year-old Sittard woman who had converted to Islam left for Syria in May and two other Sittard women’s passports have been confiscated because of fears they would join IS.