Wednesday February 12, 2020
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Two incidents in the Netherlands are alarming the security forces: In the post offices of two companies in Amsterdam and Kerkrade, explosives hidden in letters are detonated. The background is still completely unclear.
Two companies in the Netherlands are believed to have exploded letters filled with explosives. According to the police, one detonation took place in the post office of an office building in Amsterdam, the second in a company in Kerkrade that sorts mail items. In both cases, there were no injuries, the authorities said.
It is still unclear whether there is a connection between the two explosions. Explosives experts from the police carried out the investigation on site. Evidence continues, it said.
The two explosions had occurred about half an hour apart. No information is yet available on the strength of the detonations. It is also unclear how big the property damage is.
In Amsterdam, the alleged explosive device exploded shortly before 8 a.m. The post office of an unspecified company in an “An de Bolstoen” industrial estate in the Westpoort district was affected.
According to the Limburg police, the explosion occurred in Kerkrade on the German-Dutch border at around 8.30 a.m. There a letter sorter in the “Wiebachstraat” commercial area was affected. At the time of the explosion, there were nine employees in the building. The Dutch community of Kerkrade is just a few kilometers north of Aachen.
Explosives in postal items
The authorities take the incidents very seriously: in the past few weeks, letters filled with explosives have been discovered in several Dutch companies, but also in various Dutch organizations. The explosive mail items had never exploded, however.
So far, no pattern has been identified. Previous goals included a hotel, a gas station, a garage and the office of a real estate agent.
According to the Dutch authorities, it is still completely unclear whether the current incidents are related to the seized bombs. So far, according to the police, there is no evidence of the perpetrator (s) and the motive behind it. The investigation is ongoing.
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