Four arrests as Denmark foils alleged terror attack plot

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Chief police inspector Flemming Drejer and senior police inspector Peter DahlImage source, AFP

Image caption,

Danish police gave few details about the alleged plot during a press conference on Thursday

Danish authorities say they have foiled a planned major terror attack.

Three people were arrested in Denmark and one in the Netherlands during dawn raids on Thursday, police said at a press conference.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the threat was "as serious as it gets".

Authorities did not immediately disclose details of the alleged plot they say they prevented, saying the investigation was ongoing.

The three people arrested in Denmark will be charged with terror offences, police Ch Insp Flemming Drejer told reporters.

He said an investigation had uncovered a transnational network of people preparing a terror attack, with links to criminal gangs.

Security around Jewish sites will be reinforced and police patrols in Copenhagen made more frequent, he added.

Former Copenhagen Police Dep Insp Jens Moller told TV2 Thursday morning's raids would have been co-ordinated down to the minute.

"They must take place simultaneously within a minute of each other - preferably 10-15 seconds," he said.

Danish intelligence chief Anja Dalgaard-Nielsen said the terror threat was linked to the Israel-Gaza war and burnings of the Quran in Denmark and neighbouring Sweden.

In 2015, two people were killed during an attack on a cultural centre and a synagogue in Copenhagen.

Earlier this month, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson warned that Europe faced a "huge risk of terrorist attacks" over the Christmas period.

The terror threat in Denmark currently stands at level four out of five, the second-highest.

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