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Allah-Las show cancelled after terror tip-off

A Rotterdam show by US garage-rock act Allah-Las was cancelled last night after police received information about a “possible terrorist threat” from Spanish authorities.

The four-piece’s planned performance at Maassilo (main hall cap. 2,000) was pulled by police, who later found a Spanish-registered van packed with “gas bottles” outside the venue.

The van’s driver was held after police noticed him behaving erratically, the mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, announced in a press conference at around 10.30pm. Aboutaleb – a Muslim of Moroccan ancestry – warned against drawing “swift conclusions” about the suspected attacker’s motives, telling reporters: “It would be wrong at this moment to […] conclude there was a plan to attack with gas bottles, et cetera, because that was the case last week in Barcelona. I would be careful with that.”

“It would be wrong at this moment to conclude there was a plan to attack … because that was the case last week in Barcelona”

The van driver, identified by police as a mechanic, was later ruled out as a suspect, and a second man, a 22-year-old living in Brabant, was arrested this morning at 2am. His house will be subject to an “extensive search” tonight, say police.

Allah-Las, who say their “holy-sounding” moniker is inspired by The Jesus and Mary Chain, have previously had a show pulled in Muslim-majority Turkey by a promoter uneasy with the name.

Live Nation Spain’s Pino Sagliocco earlier this week paid tribute to the victims of the recent terror attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, saying the former city is one of “radiant light and will continue to be so, even in the face of those who wish to darken it”.

 


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