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UPDATE: 04 September 2018: Dutch law enforcement has confirmed that the attacker came to Amsterdam from Germany explicitly to conduct an attack, according to the UK’s Daily Mail. He did not know the nationality of the victims when he attacked them, they were representative of the attacker’s perception of Dutch. The attacker claims that his motivation was tied to the statements by far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders concerning having a Prophet Mohammed cartoon contest.
Friday, 31 August 2018 saw an 18-year-old Afghan man, with a German residency permit attack two tourists from the United States in Amsterdam’s Central Train Station.
The two Americans were standing at the train station information booth when they were attacked. Dutch security personnel in the train station reacted immediately and shot and wounded the attacker.
The Telegraph (English language) notes that motives for the attack were not yet known, beyond the two Americans were singled out and stabbed. They note that the police declined to speculate, and then go on and provided a potential motive:
The Afghan Taliban in a statement Thursday called for attacks on Dutch troops following plans by Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders to stage a Prophet Mohammed cartoon competition in the Dutch parliament.
We at Securely Travel, first learned of the attack via our partner AlertsUSA.com’s SMS and Email.
The first alert, which came out moments after the attack would have given us sufficient notice to stay clear of Amsterdam’s central railway station had we been in Amsterdam.
The second and third alerts the next day provided us with sufficient information to recognize that this was not the act of an individual with a diminished mental faculty, but rather an attack which targeted two Americans.
It also provided to us reason enough to advise all travelers to heighten their situational awareness and to maintain their presence in high-trafficked areas for the absolute minimum amount of time.
Alert #1 - 0646 PDT Friday 31 August
Alert #2 - 0528 PDT Saturday 01 September
Alert #3 - 1009 PDT Saturday 01 September
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s Twitter and Facebook notices called the attack terrorism and noted that the Americans were the only victims. He also admonished all to stay “alert.”
Onderzoek naar steekpartij op Amsterdam CS richt zich op terroristisch motief. Onze gedachten zijn bij de 2 zwaargewonde Amerikaanse slachtoffers. Diepste respect voor de politie en NS-personeel. We zijn en blijven alert.
Meer info ➡️ https://t.co/vFzcFDImNm
— Mark Rutte (@MinPres) September 1, 2018
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