Dutch prosecutors: Saudi embassy shooting had terror motive

Dutch prosecutors say that the shooting last week at the Saudi Arabian embassy building in The Hague was carried out with “terrorist” motive

Netherlands Saudi Arabia Embassy (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Dutch prosecutors said Monday that the shooting last week targeting the Saudi Arabian embassy building in The Hague was carried out with a “terrorist" motive

A 40-year-old suspect arrested on the day the embassy was sprayed with gunfire appeared Monday before an investigating magistrate. He was ordered held for a further 14 days as investigations continue.

Nobody was injured in the early morning shooting last Thursday that left the white façade and several windows of the embassy riddled with bullet holes.

Prosecutors said in a statement that the man, whose identity was not released, is suspected of crimes “with a terrorist motive” including attempted murder or manslaughter of an embassy guard and “violence toward the building of an internationally protected person.”

The terrorist motive "is evident from the fact that the suspect appears to want to impose his will on the embassy,” prosecutors said in a statement. It added that the suspect had previously been fined for defacing the building.

The embassy last week condemned the attack and urged its citizens in the Netherlands to exercise caution.

The Dutch foreign ministry said in a statement that it was taking the shooting “extremely seriously” and was in close contact with Saudi authorities.