Expatica news

New letter bombs target Dutch firms

A letter bomb exploded at a bank headquarters in Amsterdam on Thursday, a day after two other businesses were targeted in what Dutch police said was an extortion attempt.

One person was treated for smoke inhalation but there were no other injuries in the blast at the ING bank building in the Dutch capital, police said on Twitter.

Another letter bomb was found at the office of US technology firm Unisys Corp in Leusden in the central Netherlands but defused before it could explode.

Police told Dutch broadcaster NOS there was “possibly a link” between Thursday’s incidents and Wednesday’s letter bombs targeting an ABN AMRO bank in Amsterdam and the Japanese copier firm Ricoh in the eastern town of Kerkrade.

The suspected blackmailer in the earlier attacks had demanded payment in bitcoins — a virtual currency — and threatened further blasts if the companies failed to make payment.

Police say they “strongly” believed Wednesday’s blasts were themselves linked to at least seven letter bombs sent to seemingly random targets earlier this year.