Belgium arrests seven suspected of plotting 'terrorist attack'
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Loading... - Laura Camille
- 11 May 2023
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Seven individuals suspected of supporting ISIS and planning a terrorist attack were arrested in Belgium on Thursday. Among them, three hold Belgian nationality and almost all are ethnic Chechens, according to a statement by prosecutors. The exact target of the planned attack has not yet been determined.
The police, supported by elite units, conducted raids at nine addresses in several towns in western Belgium. The investigating judge, who specializes in terrorism cases, will decide at a later stage whether there is enough evidence to charge the suspects. Possible charges include attempted terrorist assassination, participation in the activities of a terrorist group, and preparation of a terrorist attack. All seven arrested individuals are suspected of preparing a terrorist attack in Belgium and belong to a group of strong supporters of ISIS.
According to a spokesman for the federal prosecutors' office, the suspects apparently intended to target an institution located in Belgium and had been actively searching for weapons. The police raids took place in the city of Ghent and the smaller towns of Roeselare, Menen, Ostend, and Wevelgem.
ISIS claimed responsibility for suicide bombings in Belgium on March 22, 2016, at Brussels airport and the capital's metro, killing 32 people and wounding hundreds. These bombings occurred months after the November 2015 attacks in Paris, which were planned by the same ISIS cell and killed 130 people. Chechnya, a republic in Russia's North Caucasus region, is ruled by pro-Kremlin strongman Ramzan Kadyrov. Kadyrov supports Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine and has sent his militia there to fight.
