Dutch King and PM mourn victims of Berlin attack

The Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday sent their condolences to the families of the victims after the deadly attack at a Christmas market in Berlin.

"At the foot of the Memorial Church, the symbol that reminds us of the values of peace and reconciliation, defenseless people became the victims of an act of violence last night," stated King Willem-Alexander. "We feel intensely with the bereaved families and with those who were injured. Berlin is in our minds."

"Berlin mourns and we mourn with them for the many deaths and injured," said Prime Minister Mark Rutte. "We think of everyone who waits in vain for the return of his beloved. I have conveyed our condolences to my German counterpart Angela Merkel on behalf of the Netherlands and offered to help where we can."

Dick Schoof, the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV), stated that the NCTV will follow the events in Berlin closely. "Unfortunately, this fits into our current threat level, which will remain substantial."

The terrorist threat level in the Netherlands is on "substantial", level four on a scale of five, since March 2013. That means the chance of an attack in the Netherlands is real but that there are no specific indications that terrorists are preparing to carry out an attack in the Netherlands.

source: Xinhua