Men Held By Dutch Said to Be Unlikely to Plot Attack

Two men being held by Dutch authorities after arriving on a flight from the U.S. are unlikely to have been planning a terrorist attack, two American law enforcement officials said.

Dutch authorities earlier had said the two men, of Yemeni descent, were being held on possible involvement in preparing a terrorist act after arriving in Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam yesterday.

The men didn’t know each other, according to the law enforcement officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing. There’s no evidence to suggest terrorism, they said.

In a statement today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said, “These two passengers have not been charged with any crime in the United States and we caution you against jumping to any conclusions.”

One of the men’s checked bags aroused suspicion because it contained a mobile phone taped to a Pepto-Bismol bottle and other phones and watches strapped together as well as several knives and at least one box-cutter, the officials said.

A failed attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner, bound for Detroit on Dec. 25, originated in Amsterdam.

Today, Theo d’Anjou, the Dutch national prosecutor, in a statement to reporters at Schiphol, said the arrests of the two men took place based on information from U.S. authorities.

Consultations

“In a few days it will be made public if they will be charged,” he said. “There are consultations with U.S. authorities about the progress of the investigation.”

D’Anjou said in the statement that mobile phones found in the luggage were seized by U.S. authorities.

A third U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, identified the men as Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al Soofi and Hezem Abdullah Thabi Almurisi and said both were in the U.S. legally. Other officials gave their ages as 48 and 37.

Earlier in al Soofi’s trip, airport screeners in Birmingham, Alabama, had inspected checked baggage belonging to him, according to the law enforcement officials and another U.S. official. He was carrying $7,000 in cash, and airport screeners found the items taped together in various configurations.

When no explosives were found, al Soofi was allowed to fly to Chicago, where both he and Almurisi boarded United Airlines Flight 908 to Amsterdam, according to the law enforcement officials.

Luggage Checked

While the men headed to Amsterdam, the luggage containing the suspicious items was checked on to a flight to Washington Dulles International Airport and then to Sanaa in Yemen, U.S. and Dutch authorities said.

Security employees ordered the flight back to the gate and retrieved the luggage after finding that the passenger wasn’t on board, said another U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Homeland Security department, in a statement yesterday, said that “suspicious items” found in the checked baggage “were not deemed to be dangerous in and of themselves.”

The suspects didn’t have any suspicious items with them in the Amsterdam-bound plane’s cabin or in carry-on luggage, d’Anjou said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jeff Bliss in Washington at jbliss@bloomberg.net; Justin Blum in Washington at jblum4@bloomberg.net

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