Amsterdam gym blast suspects were “making explosives”

The cause of last week’s explosion in Amsterdam which injured seven people is most likely to have been the result of “criminal activity involving explosives” in one of the cellar storage rooms, the public prosecution department has confirmed.

The two main suspects were remanded in custody for a further 14 days at a short court hearing on Thursday afternoon. Naoufal T, who is 24 and Yassine B, 23, were both seriously injured in the blast. T is in intensive care after losing both legs and one arm while B has serious burn injuries to his head.

The department said in a press statement that the role of criminal activity involving explosives is being further investigated by the police. The two men are suspected of creating an explosion, planning explosions and the possession of explosives, the statement said.

Five other people were also injured in the blast but the department has not commented on their condition. The two suspects are likely to have been the only two people in the cellar at the time.

The blast destroyed the gym in Amsterdam’s Nieuw West district shortly after midnight. People who were in the building were able to leave with the help of passersby.

Sources told the Parool that the duo were making explosives to blow up ATMs.

The paper said T is the younger brother of Nousair T, 29, who was jailed for four years in December 2024 for attacks on ATMs in Amsterdam, Kaatsheuvel in Noord Brabant and over the border in Germany.

Dozens of Dutch nationals have been arrested in Germany in recent years in connection with ATM explosions.

Attacks on cashpoint machines in the Netherlands have fallen dramatically from a peak of 8,811 in 2014 because of improved security and the decline of cash payments in Dutch shops.