THE HAGUE, Netherlands – A man who sparked a major security alert at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport was a homeless Polish citizen who claimed to be a "terrorist," Dutch military police said Wednesday.
The 25-year-old man, who was carrying two backpacks, made the claim, "under the influence of alcohol," the police said in a statement after interrogating him. The man's identity was not released.
When he was arrested Tuesday night, a sniffer dog checked the backpacks and indicated that they could contain "dangerous materials," the police said. Military explosives experts summoned to the airport checked the bags and found nothing dangerous.
Heavily armed military police, wearing body armor and ski masks, patrolled Schiphol for four hours while the man's bags were checked.
The tense operation left many passengers stranded outside the airport. However, flights were unaffected and trains continued running to the airport's underground station.
Police have sent the case to prosecutors who will decide whether to press charges.
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