Police in the southern Dutch city of Maastricht said late Thursday that two people have died and a number of people have been wounded in two stabbing incidents.

In a tweet, police in the southern province of Limburg said investigations were underway into the two incidents.

Local media reported that the incidents happened in a residential neighborhood in the north of Maastricht, a city 215 kilometers (133 miles) south of the capital, Amsterdam.

Europe has been on high alert because of recent spree in terrorist attacks.

The number of terrorist attacks resulting in fatalities in western Europe increased in 2016, despite an overall drop in the number of incidents taking place.

The deadliest incident recorded in western Europe was the series of coordinated attacks on Paris in November 2015 that resulted in the deaths of 130 people and was claimed by Daesh terrorists.

Data released in July by the Global Terrorism Database showed that there were 30 such attacks resulting in fatalities in western Europe in 2016 and 23 in 2015. This compares with two attacks across the region resulting in fatalities in 2014 and five in 2013.

In addition, terrorist attacks have become more deadly, with 26.5 people on average being killed in 2015 and 2016, up from an average of four a year in the preceding three years.