Tough times for Utrecht terror suspect's family

The family of terror suspect Zaid Koullis is having a difficult time dealing with their son’s newfound notoriety, the head of an area mosque said Wednesday. The 18-year-old’s father regularly attends the Omar al Farouq mosque in Utrecht.

Relatives of Koullis want privacy at this time, the mosque’s leader, Abdelmajid Khairoun, told broadcaster Nos.

The police searched the home Koullis' parents after he was identified by Belgian authorities as a suspect connected to the Verviers, Belgium terrorist cell broken up last week. Officers in Utrecht seized phones and laptops as part of the investigation.

Koullis was reported missing by his parents in September. He is rumored to be somewhere in Spain.

Belgian officials turned their attention on Koullis when his passport was found in an anti-terrorist raid to an apartment in Verviers. Two armed jihadists were killed in the raid.

Additional reporting by Zack Newmark