The Dutch police authorities have arrested eight suspects concerning the killing of the famous filmmaker Theo van Gogh, Radio Netherlands reported Wednesday.  

The arrested include six Moroccans, an Algerian and a Moroccan with Spanish citizenship, the report said.

Investigators were quoted as saying that the man who shot van Gogh stayed in the apartments of those arrested.

The suspect, a 26-year-old resident of Amsterdam with Moroccan background, is not responding to police interrogators.

The Justice Ministry has confirmed that he was motivated by radical Islamic ideas. The letter he left on the filmmaker's body allegedly called for a religious holy war.

Van Gogh was known for his outspoken criticism of Islam. He was killed Tuesday morning while on his way to work in Amsterdam.

Theo van Gogh, 47, who directed television series and wrote columns and books, courted controversy during his entire career. One of his most recent productions dealt with violence against women in Islamic societies and prompted many death threats.

Dutch Queen Beatrix and Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende voiced shock and concern at van Gogh's assassination soon after the killing.

(Xinhua News Agency November 4, 2004)