Explosives detonate at Ikea stores across Europe

May 31, 2011 9:54 AM | By Sapa-AFP

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Small explosives concealed in alarm clocks detonated at Ikea furniture stores in Belgium, France and the Netherlands, Belgian authorities said on Tuesday.

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NETHERLANDS, Eindhoven : Police investigates the surroundings of a depot of Swedish furniture concern Ikea in Eindhoven, southern Netherlands, after an explosion in a garbage can in the parking lot of the shop, on May 30, 2011.
Photograph by: BERT JANSEN
Credit: AFP 

The explosions in stores in the Belgian city of Ghent, Lille in northern France and Eindhoven in The Netherlands caused no damage or injuries.
"The information we have is that the explosions happened the same way in all locations, with booby-trapped alarm clocks that had been hidden exploding," An Schoonjans, spokeswoman for Ghent prosecutors, told AFP.
In Ghent, an employee and a security agent complained of ear aches after two small explosions, which detonated almost simultaneously before the store closed Monday evening.
Two booby-trapped alarm clocks were detonated by remote control, Schoonjans said.
The spokeswoman said the circumstances were similar in Eindhoven and Lille, but she was unable to provide details.
"We are in contact with judicial authorities in Eindhoven and Lille to see if there is a link between the three affairs," she said.
Belgian police were to inspect the country's six Ikea stores.