THE HAGUE (AFP) - Dutch police closed two department stores and a restaurant in the city of Haarlem on Wednesday after someone tweeted threats of a "bloodbath.”

Armed police were deployed outside V&D shops and a restaurant in the city to the west of Amsterdam after "threatening tweets" were made, police said in a statement.

The tweets were made on Tuesday night saying there would be a bloodbath at a V&D shop on Wednesday at 11:50 a.m., with at least 10 dead, Dutch media reported.

The author of the tweets said he or she would carry out the attack in retaliation for being fired, presumably from a V&D shop.

Police said that the tweet and the user's twitter account had disappeared and that they were trying to identify the sender.

Several other shops in Haarlem decided to shut down while others remain open, police tweeted, as a police helicopter flew over the city.