Authorities investigating the murder of a Dutch filmmaker by a suspected Islamic radical are investigating links to foreign terrorist groups, including those responsible for the Casablanca bombings.
Nine men - eight of Moroccan ancestry - have been arrested in the inquiry into the stabbing and shooting of Theo van Gogh while he was bicycling on an Amsterdam street on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old chief suspect, who holds dual Dutch-Moroccan nationality and has been identified only as Mohammed B., is to be arraigned tomorrow. He had a pistol in his pocket at the time of his arrest and was shot in the leg by police during a chase through a park.
The eight other suspects, aged 19-27, are believed to be Islamic radicals plotting a terrorist attack, prosecutors said. Four were arrested a year ago on suspicion of planning to strike European targets, but were released for lack of evidence.
It was unclear if they would be charged in Van Gogh's murder or if Mohammed B. will face terrorism charges.
Van Gogh, a distant relative of the famous painter Vincent Van Gogh, had received death threats after the release in August of his film "Submission" which criticized the treatment of women in Islam. He will be cremated on Tuesday in a public service.
He was shot repeatedly at close range. The killer then jammed a five-page note into Van Gogh's chest with a knife and slit his throat.
Prosecutors declined to confirm reports that the note called for Islamic holy war against non-Muslims, but said it was "of a radical fundamentalist nature." The attacker also reportedly carried a will, indicating he was prepared to die.
Prosecutors said Mohammed B. was an "associate" of five men who were briefly detained last year on suspicion of links to terrorists in Spain and Morocco responsible for the bombing in Casablanca. They were released for lack of evidence.
Four are among the suspects taken into custody in the Van Gogh slaying, while the fifth, Samir Azzouz, 18, of Moroccan ancestry, was arrested in June and is awaiting trial for allegedly attempting to attack a Dutch airport, nuclear reactor or parliament.
Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner told parliament earlier this year that the five were arrested after the intelligence service tipped the police about "coded communications" indicating "an attack was imminent."
A Moroccan diplomat has traveled to the Netherlands and more than 75 detectives have been put on the Van Gogh murder case, officials said.
While the Dutch people reacted with anger to Van Gogh's killing, which they saw as an attack on free speech, politicians called for an emergency debate on the failure by security officials to prevent it.
Despite widespread condemnation of the murder by mainstream Islamic groups, Muslims fear reprisals and ethnic tensions were tangible in Dutch streets.
"This is definitely going to happen more often," said Nicolette Toering, visiting the spot where Van Gogh was killed. She rejected concerns among Muslim that they would be targeted by violence and said unemployed immigrants should leave the country.
A young Dutch man of Moroccan ancestry, visiting the crime scene, said the fact that a Muslim is suspected in the crime "struck like a sledgehammer."
Born in the Netherlands of immigrant parents, Samir Alami said he felt uncomfortable for the first time in his life while riding the train to Amsterdam. "People were giving me angry stares, you could see it in their faces," he said. "I feel terrible."