It was a restless night in Zuid-Holland, with five explosions in the Rotterdam region and one in The Hague, the police reported. As far as is known, no one got hurt. But the blasts did cause significant damage.
Preventive searches will now be carried out in Rotterdam neighborhoods recently affected by multiple explosions at homes and business premises. Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb has designated the Crooswijk and Oude West neighborhoods as safety risk areas, which makes it possible for the searches to happen. The preventive searches allow police to pat down and question an individual in those areas without probable cause. A number of other neighborhoods in Rotterdam, such as Centrum, Feijenoord, Delfshaven, IJsselmonde and Charlois, were already designated as risk areas.
The two Rotterdam teenagers who were arrested last week on suspicion of placing an explosive device at a building on Van Speykstraat in Zuid-Holland city will remain in jail for at least two more weeks, the Public Prosecution Service said on Monday. Rotterdam has recently been plagued by explosions and other violent incidents at buildings, with the mayor and city council becoming increasingly concerned.