Dutch police free Somali suspects

Dutch police have released 11 of 12 Somali men arrested in Rotterdam for alleged "terrorism" offences ahead of Christmas, while one man remains in custody, according to Dutch prosecutors.

Some of the freed men have been handed over to immigration authorities, prosecutors said in a statement posted on their website on Tuesday.

Two are still suspects, prosecutors said.

The men, all aged between 19 to 48, were detained after co-ordinated raids on locations including a hotel and an internet cafe on December 24.

The raids followed a warning by AIVD, the Dutch intelligence service, that several Somalis were planning an attack in the Netherlands.

No weapons or explosives were found, prosecutors said, and the intended target was unknown.

Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, quoting an unidentified intelligence source, said some of the Somalis arrested had planned to shoot down an Apache helicopter at the nearby Gilze-Rijen air base using a rocket-propelled grenade.

There has been speculation that, as Europe