The threat of terror attacks is receding in the Netherlands thanks to tough new laws and the prosecution of key Islamic extremists, the head of the country’s national intelligence service said Friday. “The concrete threat of homegrown jihadist networks appears to have receded,” said Sybrand van Hulst, head of the Dutch Intelligence and Security Service, as he presented the group’s annual report. “Nevertheless, it is still conceivable that there could be terrorist attacks in the Netherlands,” he said. Van Hulst warned that radicalization of young Muslims was continuing, fueled by events such as the Iraq war and the crisis caused by Danish cartoons that many Muslims believe insulted the Prophet Muhammad. Van Hulst said that a trend was developing for radical Muslims to preach ultraorthodox Islam to mainly young second- or third-generation immigrant men (…)
