Terrorism alleged in Rotterdam synagogue firebomb; Suspects sought in Amsterdam attacks
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) is pursuing terrorism charges against four teenagers in custody for an arson attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam early Friday morning. The police are still looking for the perpetrators of similar attacks in Amsterdam, one on a Jewish school early Saturday and one on an office building housing an American bank on Monday.
According to the OM, the suspects in the Rotterdam attack set fire to the synagogue on A.B.N. Davidsplein during the early hours of Friday morning. The four teenagers, two 19-year-old men, one 18-year-old man, and a 17-year-old boy, all from Tilburg, were arrested later in the day. The magistrate remanded them into custody for another 14 days on Monday.
“The men are suspected of causing an explosion, arson, and attempted arson, all with a terrorist intent,” the OM said. “This means that their actions are aimed at instilling serious fear in a population group, in this case, the Jewish community.”
The investigation is ongoing, and the suspects are in restricted custody, meaning that they are only allowed to have contact with their lawyer.
It is not yet clear if police and prosecutors will pursue terrorism allegations as an aggravating factor in two similar incidents in Amsterdam.
The police are looking for two suspects on a fatbike in connection with an explosive attack on the Atrium office building on Strawinskylaan in Amsterdam’s Zuidas district early on Monday morning.
The two suspects wore dark clothing and one of them carried a backpack, a police spokesperson said on the investigative program Opsporing Verzocht. They drove up to the building on a fatbike, traveling via Boelelaan. The passenger got off near the Atrium building and set off an explosive at the building’s entrance, and then fled on the fatbike via Parnassusweg.
The police spokesperson stressed that they are still investigating whether there is a connection between the attack on the Atrium building and an attack on a Jewish school in Amsterdam-Zuid during the early hours of Saturday morning. The police are also seeking two suspects for that incident.
Investigators released CCTV footage of these two suspects on Monday afternoon. They arrived at the school on Zeelandstraat on a scooter, placed an explosive device against the school’s exterior wall, and fled toward Van Nijenrodeweg.
A video is circulating online in which the attack on the Atrium building is claimed by the same group that previously claimed responsibility for the attacks at the Jewish school in Amsterdam, the synagogue in Rotterdam, and a previous attack on a synagogue in Liège, Belgium. The video is still unverified. The police previously told the media that they know about the footage and will include it in their investigation.
The attacks seem to be related to the Iran war, and experts warned that attackers would target locations linked directly or indirectly to the United States and Israel - the two countries that started the war with attacks on Iran. So far, the three attacks in the Netherlands have targeted the Jewish community and an office building that houses the Bank of New York.
