Nine people added to Dutch terrorism list after Brussels attack

Dutch Foreign Affairs minister Bert Koenders approved the addition of nine people to the national list of known terrorists. The government announced the decision less than an hour after three bombings in Brussels claimed the lives of at least 13 people at the Zaventem airport.

Attackers also targeted a subway car in an explosion that went off at the Maalbeek metro stop. Nobody was confirmed killed in the underground blast as of 10:40 a.m.

The nine alleged terrorists are primarily involved in terrorism-related activities in Iraq and Syria, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on Tuesday morning. It raises the total number of people on the watch list to 48, of which they participate in three different unnamed illegal organizations.

Once named to the terrorism list, the suspects’ funds are frozen, cutting off access to bank accounts and credit cards. “It makes it much more difficult for those leaving the Netherlands to carry out terrorist acts, or to finance others,” Koenders stated. Those providing money or credit to people on the terror list may also be criminally prosecuted, the minister added.

Information about the nine alleged terrorists will be shared with all EU member states. “Terrorists have no consideration for borders, so we must also also not [consider them] in our response.”

Koenders reached an agreement on adding the nine suspects to the list with Security and Justice Minister Ard van der Steur and Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Minister of Finance.

#Koenders voegt negen uitreizigers toe aan nationale #terrorismelijst. Dit houdt het in: pic.twitter.com/aTRnXXSKOC

— Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken (@MinBZ) March 22, 2016