A heavy police presence, including special units, deployed in central Ede in the Netherlands early on Saturday morning, amid a hostage situation initially involving "several people", Paralel.Az reports citing Deutsche Welle.

Police said at around 12:45 p.m. local time (1145 UTC/GMT), some five hours after their first communications on the issue, that a man had been arrested and that the "last hostage has been released," but that they could not immediately say more.

Marthyne Kunst, the head of the public prosecutor's office for East Netherlands, said in a press conference soon after the arrest that the suspect had a black rucksack and knives on his person which he had shown to the hostages. He claimed to have explosives as well.

"We are now fully investigating it and we are searching the cafe," Kunst said. "We do not know yet what is in that backpack."

Kunst said the motive for the attack was not clear and was now being investigated, as was the suspect's mental state. He was already known to law enforcement because of past threats issued, she said.

Both Mayor Rene Verhulst and a police officer spoke of an "intense" morning and operation in the city, albeit one that appeared to have been resolved without bloodshed.