THE HAGUE, Nov 10: Dutch police stormed an apartment and arrested two people on Wednesday, ending a 14-hour stand-off that began when suspects sought in anti-terrorism probe wounded three officers in a hand grenade blast.

A police spokesman said a special police unit entered the apartment in The Hague to end the drama that began when officers launched a pre-dawn raid on the building. Police said the suspects resisted arrested and threw a grenade at them.

Heavily armed police had circled the building all day, which is located in a poor neighbourhood of The Hague where almost half the population is immigrant. The area was cordoned off and the airspace over the city closed.

One bystander estimated there were almost 200 police on the scene, including officers wearing balaclava masks and carrying machineguns.

"The police are now investigating the apartment," the police spokesman said. "The siege is over."

Shots had been heard as dusk fell. Police said in a statement one of the suspects had been injured in the shoulder.

The raid came amid an upsurge in violence following the killing of outspoken filmmaker Theo van Gogh.

Officials declined to say whether the operation was linked to last week's killing of Van Gogh by a suspected militant that has sparked apparent tit-for-tat attacks on churches and mosques. Van Gogh had enraged Muslims with a film accusing Islam of promoting violence against women.

The raid recalled a police operation in Madrid in April when seven suspects in the March train bombings blew themselves up after police cornered them in a suburban apartment. A policeman also died in that raid and 11 people were wounded.-Reuters