A hair salon on Brederodestraat in the south of Antwerp was hit by an explosive device shortly after 6 a.m. on Tuesday, local police said. The blast sent smoke through the building's entrance hall, prompting emergency services to evacuate residents as a precaution.
Nine people, including several children, were taken to safety and temporarily sheltered in a bakery across the street. No injuries were reported.
The building has been targeted before, police confirmed. Investigators have opened a case to determine the circumstances of the latest attack and to establish whether it is connected to Antwerp’s drug-related criminal networks, which have been linked to a string of recent explosions in the city.
