Around 3.40am last night, explosives were thrown at a cafe near the Sint-Jansplein in Antwerp’s North District. A very loud bang was heard. The police and the army bomb squad DOVO later attended the scene. Nobody was injured police say. In the Deurne-South district of Antwerp, a car was set on fire around the same hour.
The explosives were Cobra-type fireworks and were thrown at a café on the corner of the De Pretstraat and the Cassierstraat, near the Sint-Jansplein.
The explosion destroyed the café’s windows. Police are investigating the attack. There is no trace of the culprit. The police are trying to find out more about the attack based on witness statements. Detectives are also checking whether any footage of the incident exists.
The justice department’s forensic lab and the DOVO bomb squad attended the scene.
Around the same time as the attack on the cafe last night, an incident also took place in the Deurne-South district. ‘Shortly before 4am, a car on the Jozef Verbovenlei was completely gutted by fire,’ police spokesman Wouter Bruyns said. "We assume malicious intent. The lab is investigating what exactly happened."