Dutch police in the city of Rotterdam cancelled a concert in which the band Allah-Las was set to play due to terror fears shortly after finding a van full of gas canisters.
The U.S.-based band’s gig was cancelled after Dutch police got a tip from Spanish authorities over a potential terror plot. Police located a vehicle with Spanish licence plates that contained a number of gas bottles near the venue and arrested the driver of the vehicle taking him into custody on Wednesday night, the Express reports.
The venue where the concert was to be held, the Maassilo nightclub, put out a statement on Twitter saying: “In connection with a terror threat the concert of Allah-Las was ordered by the police, not to happen tonight!”
In verband met een terreurdreiging gaat het concert van Allah Las op last van de politie vanavond niet door!
— Maassilo (@Maassilo) August 23, 2017
Pictures have surfaced on social media of the alleged vehicle: a white Citroen van with a Spanish licence plate. Though officers have arrested the driver, they have so far not identified him or given any statements on whether or not they are treating the case as attempted terrorism.
On Thursday, Dutch police confirmed they have made a second arrest.
Op de Mijnsherenlaan is een Spaans busje aangetroffen, bestuurder is overgebracht naar politiebureau. EOD doet onderzoek bij het voertuig pic.twitter.com/v2u36H8dS7
— MediaTV (@mediatvnl) August 23, 2017
The band’s name has earned the ire of Muslims in the past, according to its lead singer Miles Michaud.
The singer said in an interview last year: “We get emails from Muslims, here in the US and around the world, saying they’re offended, but that absolutely wasn’t our intention. We email back and explain why we chose the name and mainly they understand.”
The opening act for the show, Turkish folk group Altin Gun wrote about the cancellation on their Facebook saying: “Hey guys, the police have arrived and have been forced to cancel tonight’s show with Allah-las. So sorry about this! More information will follow.”
Hey guys, the police have arrived and have been forced to cancel tonight's show with Allah-las. So sorry about this! More information will follow.
Posted by Altın Gün on Wednesday, August 23, 2017
The terror threat comes only days after a pair of terror attacks in Spain which killed 15 people and injured around a hundred more. Reports say that the terrorist cell involved planned to kill even more people and planned multiple attacks.
The attacks in Spain have led some experts to note that the country has become a “breeding ground” for radical Islamic terror.
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