Dutch prosecutors say 4 teenagers suspected of terror offenses in Rotterdam synagogue blast

The Hague, Netherlands — Four teenagers arrested on suspicion of setting off an explosive device outside a Dutch synagogue are suspected of terror offences, prosecutors said on Monday after appearing before an investigating magistrate.

The suspects, whose names were not released in accordance with Dutch privacy rules, are suspected of “explosion, arson and attempted arson, all with terrorist intent,” the Rotterdam public prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

No one was injured when an explosion caused a small fire at a synagogue in the port city of Rotterdam around 3:40 a.m. (0240 GMT) on Friday. No details on the nature of the explosives have been released.

Prosecutors say the attack was “aimed at instilling serious fear in a population group, in this case the Jewish community”.

Suspects were arrested after an explosion in a vehicle found near another synagogue in Rotterdam. The judge, who continued the trial, on Monday ordered his detention for another two weeks. Two of the suspects are 19, one is 18 and the other is 17.

Synagogues around the world have been on edge and heightened security since the February 28 joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran sparked a war in the Middle East.

A Jewish organization in the Netherlands said in a message on X that an Islamist group posted a video of the Rotterdam blast online and that the same group claimed responsibility for a synagogue attack in the Belgian city of Liege early Monday. The authenticity of the video could not be immediately verified.

The same group posted a video of the attack early Saturday morning, in which two men set off an explosion outside a Jewish school in Amsterdam.

Police in the Dutch capital have yet to arrest any suspects in the school attack.

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said the city’s Jewish residents felt “fear and anger” and were increasingly being targeted by anti-Semitism.

“That is unacceptable. A school should be a safe place for children to learn. Amsterdam should be a safe place for Jews to live,” he said.