Three explosions at Amsterdam housing complex this week; Another one in Rotterdam

A housing complex on Charlotte Brontestraat in Amsterdam was targeted in three attacks with explosives this week. In the last one on Thursday afternoon, several people sustained minor injuries, the police said. Rotterdam also had another explosion overnight, bringing the total of such attacks in the port city to over 120 this year.

The first explosion on Charlotte Brontestraat happened on Monday at around 4:40 p.m. Someone threw a stone through a home’s window, followed by a bottle containing a flammable liquid, the police said. The bottle didn’t make it through the window and detonated in front of the home, causing significant damage. No one got hurt.

At 00:15 a.m. on Thursday, a perpetrator broke the window to the housing complex’s central entrance hall and threw in a bottle with a flammable liquid. The bottle exploded inside the hall, causing a great deal of damage but no injuries.

The third explosion at the housing complex in four days happened at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday. The perpetrators threw an explosive into a home with several people inside. The blast caused a fire, and residents had to be evacuated. Paramedics treated several people for minor injuries at the scene. Witnesses saw two men run away.

“The police assume that the three incidents are connected and would like to make contact with people who know more about this case or can say who is responsible for it,” the police said. Investigators are also looking for relevant surveillance, doorbell, or dashcam footage.

The three explosions mean at least eight have been reported in Amsterdam since September 6, averaging at one a day. The housing complex was also the target of an explosive attack in July.

Rotterdam

The Rotterdam police reported an explosion on Zuiderhagen in the Rotterdam district of IJsselmonde at 3:15 a.m. on Friday. “There is damage to the front door, but luckily, no one got hurt,” the police said on X, formerly Twitter. They are investigating.

So far this year, there have been over 120 explosive attacks targeting homes and businesses in the Rotterdam region, according to Rijnmond. Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb of Rotterdam believes them to be drug crime-related.