Explosion hits Jewish faculty in Amsterdam in ‘deliberate assault in opposition to the Jewish group’
An explosion has damaged a Jewish school in Amsterdam this morning, Dutch officials have said.
Femke Halseme, the city’s mayor, said the blast only caused limited damage to the school on the south side of Amsterdam.
The explosion happened early today, with police and firefighters quickly arriving to the scene. No injuries have been reported.
Police are probing camera footage which seems to show the individual igniting the explosive.
‘This is a cowardly act of aggression against the Jewish community,’ Ms Halsema said.
‘Jewish people in Amsterdam are increasingly confronted with antisemitism. This is unacceptable.’
The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right has claimed to have carried out the attack – the fourth they have alleged to have done this week in Europe.
The group posted a video online showing an individual igniting a fire before it explodes – and later driving away.
It has not been confirmed if the group are responsible.
It comes after synagogues in Rotterdam and Liege, Belgium, had been subject to arson attacks in recent days.
And as a result, security at synagogues and Jewish institutions in the Dutch capital had already been heightened.
A police car parked outside a Jewish school in Amsterdam following an explosion early today
Meanwhile, a synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, near Detroit in the US had also been attacked.
A Lebanese-born US citizen, who according to officials was armed with a rifle, is alleged to have driven his car into the place of worship.
Authorities have said the alleged attacker was shot dead.
Staff, teachers nor any of the 140 pupils at the synagogue’s early childhood centre sustained any injuries.
Federal investigators described the incident in the US as an incident of violence targeting the Jewish community.
Concerns about possible attacks against Jewish communities around the world have risen following US and Israeli attacks on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes.
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
