Mosque molotov cocktail fire an act of terrorism, says prosecutor

The Public Prosecutor sees the incident in which a suspect threw a Molotov cocktail at a mosque in Enschede on Saturday as an act of terrorism. The perpetrator, a 33 year old man from Enschede, is officially suspected of attempted arson with terrorist intent, the prosecutor stated on Wednesday. According to the Prosecutor, the perpetrator shows signs of terrorist intent in that his goal was to incite fear part of the population. Given the seriousness of the crime, and the fact that the Prosecutor believes there is a good chance of recurrence, the Prosecutor demanded that the perpetrator's custody be extended. On Wednesday the magistrate remanded him into custody for another 14 days. The man threw a Molotov cocktail at a mosque on Tweede Emmastraat in Enschede around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday. There were people, including children, in the mosque at the time. The resulting fire was quickly put out by people in the mosque. There are signals that violence against mosques and Muslims is increasing in the Netherlands, according to researcher at the University of Amsterdam Ineke van der Valk. This year alone, in addition to the Molotov cocktail, at least 20 mosques received threatening letters and a pig's head was left in front of a mosque in Mijdrecht, Utrecht.