The decapitated body and severed head found in diferent parts of Amsterdam this week, belong to 23-year-old Amsterdam resident Nabil Amzieb. He had previous run-ins with the law and was known to the police, Het Parool reports.

The victim's body was found in a burning Volkswagen Caddy on Mijehof Tuesday morning. His head was found in front of sisha-lounge Fayrouz on Amstelveenseweg around 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

According to witnesses, the head was angle to look into the sisha lounge. "A sort of message", Stan Koeman, who owns a deli further up the road, said to Het Parool. "It looked weird. Something that does not belong to the Dutch streets. It made me think of the Middle Ages and the Middle East".

A number of mostly young Amsterdam residents with criminal records have been killed in and around the capital city since 2012. Many of these violent assassinations can be directly linked to each other and a conflict between rival criminal gangs that started in 2012.

According to Dutch newspaper AD, Amzieb was planning to give testimony against known criminal Beaouf A. - who is a suspect in the assassination of rival Gwenette Martha's right-hand man Najeb Bouhbouh in Antwerp. A. himself was the target of an assassination in Staatsliedenbuurt in 2012. He managed to escape, but his two young companions were killed. Last year the court sentenced Anour B. and Adil A. to life in prison for the Staatsliedenbuurt double assassination.

On March 22nd, 2014 Mohammed el Mayouri was gunned down on Karperweg, around the corner of Fayrouz. He was also killed right before he could testify in a case against Benaouf A.

According to Het Parool, the sisha lounge where the severed head was found on Wednesday morning, is a known hangout for a group of criminals involved in this gang war. Specifically from the group surrounding Houcine A. - a former associate and then rival of assassinated top criminal Gwenette Martha.