This is the dramatic moment Dutch police grabbed terror suspects from inside a white van during a series of flash raids, which they said foiled a major attack using suicide vests, assault rifles and car bombs.

Footage shows heavily armed officers running towards the vehicle at a parking lot in Arnhem. They then appear to pull at least one man out from the front passenger seat and another from the back before throwing them to the floor.

Police arrested seven men, who ranged in age from 21 to 34, in the Netherlands on Thursday after raiding four properties in Arnhem as well as other locations in the southern city of Weert.

Those detained include the would-be attack's ringleader, named by local media as Hardi N. Police say he wanted to target a 'major event and make many victims'.

Heavily armed Dutch police arrested seven men accused of planning a major terror attack following raids in Arnhem (pictured) and Weert

An officer holding what appears to be a sniper rifle watches on as one of the raids takes place in Arnhem

In Weert, police found a white hire van similar to those used in previous vehicle attacks, including London Bridge

The main map shows the cities where the raids took place, Weert and Arnhem. The inset shows the four addresses in Arnhem that were raided

Hardi N is a 34-year-old Iraqi who was convicted last year of trying to join ISIS along with two other men. Two of the other suspects have also previously been convicted of attempting to travel overseas to join extremist networks.

In Arnhem, where Hardi N lived under a residency permit, police backed up by surveillance helicopters forced open a door to a house and threw smoke bombs inside. Explosions were heard, but it is not clear where these came from.

The seven suspects were found with five guns, police say.

They were also trying to obtain AK47 assault rifles, handguns, bomb vests, grenades and raw materials for bombs and were looking for opportunities to train with the weapons, according to prosecutors.

In Weert, police also found a white hire van similar to those used in previous vehicle attacks, including London Bridge.

Officials said that the investigation sped up this month because of the suspects' 'advanced preparations'.

It is not yet known exactly what event they were planning to target.

However, next month the Netherlands hosts a number of high profile marathons including the Pinjnenburg BosMarathon in Soest on October 7, the Eindhoven Marathon on October 14 and the TCS Amsterdam Marathon on October 21.

The suspects are to be brought before an investigating judge on Friday at a behind-closed-doors hearing.

A mock-up of Hardi N has been released, showing a man in his thirties with brown hair and a brown beard. He belonged to a group of Arnhem jihadists, some of whom went to Syria in 2013, according to De Telegraaf.

Those who stayed in the Netherlands transferred money to the members who successfully made the crossing to the worn-torn region.

The alleged leader, named only as Hardi N, is a 34-year-old Iraqi. He is seen here in a cartoonist's depiction

One of the Arnhem jihadis who travelled to Syria is the Arnhem rapper Marouane B and another from the city called Abdelkarim el A. The rapper is thought to have been killed by Bashar Assad’s forces in December last year.

He sent a video via Facebook from the battlefield in which he called for a 'firm deed against the Dutch government' because the Netherlands supported America in the fight against ISIS.

There was controversy about the case of Hardi N because he was free in 2014 while awaiting his appeal and walked the streets with just an electronic tag. The move was condemned by far-right politician Geert Wilders.

Hardi N told his judges that he was going to help orphans in Syria that were in the hands of Jabhat al-Nusra, but judges did not believe his excuse.

This was partly because of evidence showing the men sending messages on WhatsApp saying, 'then I see you on the battlefield'.

They also made a 'shopping list' for the trip including - 'Create Facebook, Create a Skype, Have WhatsApp, renew your passport/ID card, apply for a job as stolen/lost, unsubscribe from the municipality, and put a stop to the sickness insurance fund, take diarrhoea pills, a sturdy winter coat, boots, pants, smartphone, ibuprofen, paracetamol, Nivea cream, thermo clothing, lots of money'.

In Arnhem, (pictured) police backed up by surveillance helicopters forced open a door to a house and threw smoke bombs inside

Footage shows heavily armed officers running towards the vehicle at a parking lot in Arnhem. They then appear to pull at least one man out from the front passenger seat (circled) and another from the back before throwing them to the floor

Police carry items out of an apartment belonging to one of the alleged jihadists in Vlaardingen, South Holland

Officers searched properties belonging to the terror suspects shortly after the raids in Arnhem and Weert. Police are pictured here in Vlaardingen

Police surround the white Europcar van which was found during the raid on a property in Weert

Who is Hardi N, the alleged ringleader of the planned 'major' terror attack? Hardi N, as he is being named in the Dutch media, was said to have belonged to a group of Arnhem jihadists, some of whom went to Syria in 2013. Those who stayed in the Netherlands transferred money to the members who successfully made the crossing to the worn-torn region. One of the jihadis who travelled to Syria is the Arnhem rapper Marouane B and another from the city called Abdelkarim el A. The rapper is thought to have been killed by Bashar Assad’s forces in December last year. He sent a video via Facebook from the battlefield in which he called for a 'firm deed against the Dutch government' because the Netherlands supported America in the fight against ISIS. According to police, 'the group would like to commit an attack on a major event in the Netherlands and want to make many victims'. In Arnhem and Weert, seven men were arrested today in a coordinated strike by the police in which three men from Arnhem, a man from Huissen, two men from Rotterdam and a man from Vlaardingen were taken into custody. There was controversy about the case of Hardi N because he was free in 2014 while awaiting his appeal and walked the streets with just an electronic tag. He told his judges that he was going to help orphans in Syria that were in the hands of Jabhat al-Nusra but judges did not believe his excuse. This was partly because of evidence showing the men sending messages on WhatsApp saying, 'then I see you on the battlefield'. They also made a 'shopping list' for the trip including - 'Create Facebook, Create a Skype, Have WhatsApp, renew your passport/ID card, apply for a job as stolen/lost, unsubscribe from the municipality, and put a stop to the sickness insurance fund, take diarrhoea pills, a sturdy winter coat, boots, pants, smartphone, ibuprofen, paracetamol, Nivea cream, thermo clothing, lots of money'. Advertisement

The seven suspects are being held in isolation from each other and can only be contacted through their lawyers.





Three of them were from Arnhem, two from Rotterdam, one from Huissen and another from Vlaardingen, Weertdegekste reported.





'One of the men from Arnhem wanted to commit an attack with a group at a major event in the Netherlands and kill many victims, according to the Dutch Intelligence Service (AIVD),' the prosecutor's office said.

The Dutch anti-terror coordinator's office said in a tweet that the alleged plot corresponded to the current threat profile for the Netherlands, which is at four on a scale that tops out at five.

'Jihad networks are also active in the Netherlands with the intention to plot attacks in Europe,' the office said. 'Today's arrests must be seen in that light.'

Minister for Justice and Security Ferd Grapperhaus told national broadcaster NOS that police acted in time to prevent an attack.

'In a sense it is serious, but luckily it's also good news - a terrorist cell that was plotting an attack has been taken down,' Grapperhaus said. 'They weren't so far that it was a danger to society, in the sense that it was nearly too late. But they were quite far in their preparations.'

Armed police gather outside a property in Arnhem as they prepare to smash the front door down

Two police officers inspect large containers which were found outside the raided flat in Arnhem

An officer wearing blue evidence gloves enters a block of flats where one of the suspects lived in Vlaardingen

A policeman carries bags and boxes of evidence during the search of the apartment in Vlaardingen

The terrorism threat level for the Netherlands has not been raised following the raid. Pictured: Police outside the flats in Vlaardingen

How political tensions in the Netherlands have risen in recent months Tensions in the Netherlands have risen in recent months as far-tight politician Geert Wilders launched a cartoon competition for people to submit drawings of the prophet Muhammad. Mr Wilders reacted angrily when Hardi N, an Iraqi-born jihadi alleged to be the ring-leader of the foiled plot, was freed in 2014 on his return to Holland from Syria and was set free by the Dutch courts. Judges allowed the suspected jihadi to walk the streets and be monitored with an electronic tag. Last month an Afghan aged 19 with a German residence permit stabbed and injured two American tourists at Amsterdam's busy Central Station before being shot. Dutch prosecutor said he had chosen the Netherlands for the attack believing Islam to be ‘frequently insulted’ in the country. The Amsterdam attack came after a Taliban call for attacks on Dutch troops after Mr Wilders organised the Prophet Muhammed cartoon competition as many Muslims consider images of the prophet to be blasphemous. The likelihood of a terror attack in the Netherlands ‘remained substantial’, the Dutch anti-terror agency NCTV said last week, with terror threat levels remaining at level four out of five. The day before the attack on August 31, Mr Wilders cancelled the competition following death threats and large-scale protests in Pakistan. The arrests today came three months after two men were arrested in Rotterdam on suspicion of preparing attacks in France and in the Netherlands. Prosecutors said earlier this month they were ‘close’ to launching their attack but there has been no mention of what the target in France might have been. In the Netherlands the pair arrested in July are said to have staked out and ‘identified several possible targets’ in Rotterdam, including ‘a police station and the Erasmus Bridge’, the country's second largest. Advertisement

The Netherlands has so far been spared from the slew of terror attacks which have rocked its closest European neighbours in the past few years.

But amid a number of scares and reports that people linked to some of those attacks may have crossed briefly into the country, top Dutch security and intelligence officials have stressed that the threat level is substantial.

In August, a 19-year-old knifeman stabbed and wounded two American tourists at Amsterdam Central Station. Police later said they believe the man, an Afghan with a German residency permit, had a 'terrorist motive' for the attack.

Witnesses described scenes of panic on Friday as gunshots rang out and thousands of commuters and tourists were evacuated from the rail terminus shortly after midday.

The attack came a day after an announcement by Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders that he was cancelling moves to stage a cartoon competition to caricature the Prophet Mohammad, a plan that had angered many Muslims.

Both victims recovered from their wounds in hospital.

Officers look inside an apartment belonging to one of the arrested terror suspects in Rotterdam

Police comb through the apartment of the Rotterdam suspect, as they continue to piece together evidence to convict the men of terror charges