HOLLAND: The man suspected of killing a Dutch filmmaker who was critical of Islam was probably driven by extremist Islamist motives and was already known to the national security service, Dutch officials said.
Director Theo van Gogh, who angered some Muslims with a film that argued that Islam encouraged violence against women - and who has also offended Jews and Christians with his blunt views - was shot and stabbed as he cycled to work in Amsterdam on Tuesday.
Two knives were left in his body, one pinning a note to his chest, which NRC Handelsblad newspaper said called for an Islamic holy war. A 26-year-old suspect with Dutch and Moroccan nationality was arrested nearby.
Police have since arrested six Moroccans, one Algerian and a dual Spanish and Moroccan citizen in connection with the murder, Dutch news agency ANP reported, citing Amsterdam's police chief.
Police earlier searched five homes, seizing computers and videos, ANP said. A police spokesman could not confirm this.
In a letter to parliament, Justice Minister Jan Piet Hein Donner and Interior Minister Johan Remkes urged calm amid fears the killing could worsen Dutch race relations, tense since the murder of anti-immigration populist Pim Fortuyn in May 2002.
They said the arrested man had already come to the attention of the AIVD national security service, but was not among some 150 Islamic extremists the service is monitoring.