THE HAGUE - DUTCH police have arrested seven people suspected of preparing a terrorist attack in Amsterdam, including a relative of one of the attackers who died in the 2004 bombings in Madrid.
The threat caused shop closures and the cancellation of a rock concert by American band The Killers.
Mayor Job Cohen said police were acting on an anonymous tip that warned an Ikea outlet or other stores in the southeast of the city might be targeted.
'It wasn't a regular bomb warning, but a warning of a planned action aimed at creating casualties in shops,' Mr Cohen said late on Thursday.
'They were planning to put explosives in the shops and wanted to cause casualties in busy places,' he said.
The seven - six men and a woman between the ages of 19 and 64 - have dual Dutch and Moroccan citizenship, and one was related to a suspect in the 2004 Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,800, said a police spokesman, Hanane Lechkar.
Earlier, police commissioner Bernard Welten told a news conference in the capital that police received a telephone call on Wednesday night 'warning that three men were planning to carry out an attack with explosives in Amsterdam.'
The call came from Brussels and named home furnishing retailers Ikea among other large stores to be targeted.
Following up on the information, police on Thursday morning prevented dozens of shops, a movie theatre and the Ikea store from opening their doors to the public 'to prevent any explosives from entering,' said Mr Welten.
Dozens of shops remained closed throughout the day. Most had not yet opened their doors on Friday morning when the area was closed off. Several employees were evacuated. - AP, AFP.
