11/9/2004 5:00:00 PM GMT
Source: Reuters
Attackers detonated a bomb near an Islamic school in the southern Dutch town of Eindhoven on Monday, completely damaging the school entrance, police said, the latest attack targeting a Muslim institution.
Investigations are underway to know what was the cause of the blast, which occurred at 0230 GMT on Monday, police said.
Monday blast came after a series of similar violent attacks targeting Muslim institutes since last Tuesday's killing of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, who was critical of Islam.
Speaking to NOS television, Alexander Sakkers, mayor of Eindhoven, suggested that the "idiotic" attack should not spark tension between groups of the population.
Moreover, mosques in the city of Rotterdam and the towns of Breda and Huizen were also attacked over the weekend, however, they weren’t badly damaged.
Police detained a 24-year-old man for allegedly carrying out an attack on the mosque in Rotterdam early on Sunday. Only the mosques’ door was damaged in the attack.
Also, pamphlets insulting Islam and pictures of pigs heads were plastered on another mosque in Rotterdam.
In Amsterdam, a center for Muslim immigrants was daubed with red paint.
During the weekend, a mosque in the central town of Utrecht was set ablaze.
Netherlands is home to almost a million Muslims, most of which are from Turkey and Morocco.