Nearly 500 explosive attacks so far this year; Police, mayors plea for help

There have been 496 explosive attacks on homes and businesses in the Netherlands up to June this year, the police reported on Thursday. That is more than double the 209 explosions in the same period of 2023. The police and Dutch mayors called for more help in tackling this growing crime, advocating for a European ban on the Cobra fireworks often used in these attacks, among other things.

In 2023, there were a total of 1,052 explosive attacks in the Netherlands, but the majority of them happened in the second half of the year.

Rotterdam and Amsterdam still experience the most attacks, but more and more explosions are also happening outside the Randstad, Jos van der Stap, an explosion expert at the police, told RTL Nieuws. “We also see it in other cities in Noord-Holland, but also in smaller cities in Groningen and Noord-Brabant. It occurs in all kinds of places.”

Worryingly, homes are increasingly the target. In 75 percent of the cases, the perpetrators left an explosive at someone's front door or window in the middle of a residential area. “In most cases, there is a clear link with the criminal (drug) circuit,” the police said. “There is also copycat behavior, in which the attacks are used, for example, to ‘solve’ relational conflicts.”

Over the past 2.5 years, the police have arrested over 500 suspects. They raised concerns about how young the suspects are. “It’s often young people who place the explosives,” Van der Stap said. “These are vulnerable kids who are willing to commit serious crimes and take major risks for next to nothing. The average age is 23, which is low compared to other crimes. The suspects include boys of 13 or 14 years old, wich is very worrying. The vast majority of suspects already have multiple crimes to their name.”

The police are doing everything they can but the attacks are not decreasing, Van der Stap said. He called for “intensive cooperation with all parties that can potentially exert influence.” The police are already working with police forces in Germany, France, and Belgium, and with Europol to limit the availability of Cobra fireworks, for example. They’re pushing for a European ban on these fireworks, according to RTL.

Several mayors also expressed concerns about the police deployment these attacks demand. “The many explosions demand a lot from police capacity, especially in the base teams where the number of explosions is high,” Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema said, according to RTL. “Capacity that cannot be deployed on other important themes.”

Rotterdam is “buckling” under the “literal explosion of violence,” mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said, according to the broadcaster. The police are arresting suspects left and right, but the attacks are not decreasing. “Deploying even more repressive capacity does not seem to be the solution. Solutions need to be looked at more broadly.”

Van der Stap said that the biggest challenge lies in reducing the large pool of young people willing to commit explosive attacks. “These are vulnerable, easily influenced young people. We must ensure that they no longer lend themselves to the dirty work of others.” Prevention is key, he said.