Dutch police arrest 34 after fatal shooting in village

Dutch police say 34 suspects from several countries have been arrested after a shooting in which a man was killed and two police officers were wounded in the early hours.

The head of the regional police Jolanda Aalbers told reporters a "large group" of masked men opened fire when police arrived at a house where suspicious activities had been reported in Overasselt, a village in the east of the Netherlands near the German border.

Among those arrested were suspects from the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Algeria, regional prosecutors said.

For hours, several police units, including helicopters, were hunting for the suspected perpetrators.

Police reported that suspected getaway cars were stopped on two motorways in the region and several people were detained.

Prosecutors said there were indications of a "long running" conflict in which the same house had been shot at last year.

Two police officers who were wounded by the gunfire were taken to hospital, Aalbers said.

According to media reports, the incident stems from a conflict within a drug gang.

Residents and politicians were horrified at the scale of the violence.

"We will not tolerate this violence," Justice Minister David van Weel said.

"What happened in Overasselt tonight is completely unacceptable and crosses every line."