A Dutch judge has ordered a 19-year-old Afghan man held for a further two weeks on suspicion of stabbing two U.S. citizens at Amsterdam's main train station in a suspected terrorist attack.
Following a behind-closed-doors hearing, the judge extended the suspect's custody because of fears he may flee, repeat the crime, or violate the law, an Amsterdam court said on September 3.
Meanwhile, prosecutors said the suspect, identified as "Jawed S., travelled to the Netherlands to carry out an attack because of what he said were repeated insults to “the Prophet Mohammad, the Koran, Islam, and Allah.”
German Interior Ministry spokesman Harald Neymanns earlier said that the suspect was registered as an asylum seeker in Germany.
Neymanns also said that German police had no information that he was considered a threat to security.
Two American tourists were seriously injured on August 31 when the suspect attacked people with a knife in the crowded train station near Amsterdam’s city center.
Police at the station quickly shot the man in the lower body. He was taken to the hospital, as were the two injured men.
Thousands of commuters and tourists were evacuated from the train station after the attack. The site is a major hub for international tourists visiting Amsterdam.