A U.S. government official says the FBI's investigation of two men detained in Amsterdam is finding that it's unlikely they were on a test run for a future terror attack, even as Dutch authorities continued to hold the pair on suspicion of conspiring to commit a terrorist act.
The U.S. official says the two men arrested in Amsterdam did not know each other and were not traveling together.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation, says both men missed flights to Dulles International Airport from Chicago, and United Airlines then booked them on the same flight to Amsterdam. The men were sitting near each other on the flight.
Another U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, says that when Customs officials discovered one passenger was not on the flight from Dulles to Dubai, they called the plane back to the gate and removed his luggage. It was then they discovered suspicious items in his bag.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Dutch prosecutors say two Yemeni citizens who arrived in Amsterdam on a flight from the United States are suspects in a conspiracy to commit a terrorist act.
Prosecutors said the two men flew in from Chicago on Monday and were bound for Sana'a, the Yemeni capital. They were detained due to information provided by U.S. authorities.
Their luggage was sent on an internal flight to Washington, where U.S. authorities found suspicious items. But Dutch authorities said nothing suspicious was in the luggage that arrived in Amsterdam.
Prosecutors said Tuesday the men were being held "on suspicion of a conspiracy to a terrorist criminal act." It will be announced in a few days if they will be charged.
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