Amsterdam criminals behind increase in ATM bombings: police

A group of Amsterdam residents appears to be partly responsible for a recent increase in ATM bombings across the Netherlands, a spokesperson for the police said to broadcaster AT5. An ATM bombing is when criminals blow open an ATM with explosives to get at the money inside. "We know that 150 to 200 people are involved in this. Many from Amsterdam", the spokesperson said to the broadcaster. The police believe that the group from Amsterdam and a group from Utrecht are together responsible for dozens of ATM bombings. They started in the Netherlands in 2011, but also spread into Germany when Dutch banks started protecting themselves better. The police are particularly concerned by a trend of increasingly heavy explosives being used. "It is dangerous for the surroundings, people who live above it. It could really go wrong."