belgium firebomb
FILE: Firebombing attack, Belgium, 2023
Explosive devices were thrown at homes at three locations in Antwerp Province on Monday night. Houses in the Antwerp districts of Merksem and Borgerhout were attacked, as was a house in the municipality of Boom, around 16 kilometres south of Antwerp. No one was injured in the attacks. Police are currently investigating whether the three incidents are connected.

A resident of the house that was attacked in the Antwerp district of Merksem told VRT News "We were woken up by a loud bang and when we looked outside there was fire everywhere". The front door of the house on the Gasthuisstraat, not far from the Sportpaleis events centre, sustained fire damage.

A window in an adjacent house was also destroyed and a car that was parked nearby was damaged.

Earlier, at around 2:30am, a house on the Guldensporenstraat in Borgerhout was targeted. However, there attempts to cause an explosion only had limited success. Willem Migom of the Antwerp Local Police Service told VRT News that the front door of the house was slightly damaged in the attack.

Attack in Boom

Around 16 kilometres south of Antwerp, in Boom, a explosion seriously damaged the front door and the garage door of a house on the Gasstraat. Forensic officers and the bomb disposal service Dovo went to the scene.

It is still unclear whether the three incidents were connected. The assumption is that the attacks are linked to the trade in illegal narcotics.