A 22-year-old Somali national living in the small Brabant town of Sint-Oedenrode has been arrested on terrorism charges, the public prosecution department said on Tuesday.

The man, arrested as he left a house in the town where he was staying, is said to have been an active member of the African terrorist organisation al-Shabaab, which has been fighting to establish its own caliphate in western Africa.

He was one of two men, both Somali nationals, who were arrested last week. One has since been released but remains a suspect, the Telegraaf said on Tuesday. The arrests were made following information from the AIVD security service.

However, terrorism expert Bibi van Ginkel of the Clingendael institute told the Telegraaf that the Somali terror group has not been active in taking part in attacks in Europe.

‘We don’t know anything about this person. If he is involved in financing or if he had plans to take action here. The latter option is the least likely scenario,’ Van Ginkel said.

In 2010, 12 Somali nationals were arrested for terrorism offences in the Netherlands but later released without charge.

And in 2011, the Netherlands deported a 44-year-old Somali to the US to face charges of helped extremists travel to Somalia to train with the radical Islamic movement.