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2 Dead In Belgian Anti-Terror Raid

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  • 2 Dead In Belgian Anti-Terror Raid

    At least two were killed and a suspect is in custody after a police raid on a terrorist cell in Belgium on Thursday.

    Witnesses told Belgium's RTBF radio they heard a series of explosions followed by rapid fire near a bakery and a train station in the industrial town of Verviers, located about 80 miles southeast of the capital of Brussels.

    Belgian media reported those targeted in Thursday's raid had been under surveillance since returning from Syria a week ago, AFP reported.

    Anti-terror operations were taking place in other cities across Belgium as well, CNN and AFP reported.

    The raids come amid heightened concern over terrorism in Europe in the wake of last week's Paris terror attacks.

    Islamic State militants had threatened attacks on Belgium in a video released Wednesday, the Brussels-based Belga news agency reported, according to AFP.

    CNN reported the group targeted in the Verviers anti-terror operation is believed to have ties to the militant group. A senior Belgian counter-terrorism official told CNN the group had been instructed by the Islamic State to carry out attacks in Belgium and Europe in retaliation for the U.S.-led airstrikes against the militant group in Syria and Iraq.

    There's no indication yet that the police operation in Belgium is related to last week's attacks in neighboring France.

    The Wall Street Journal citing Belgian media reported Thursday that Amedy Coulibaly, 32, may have bought weapons in Belgium that were used in his attack that left four dead at a kosher supermarket in Paris last week. An unnamed Belgian police official told the paper that it appears Coulibaly was looking for weapons in Belgium at some point but it's not clear if he actually purchased them there.

    The Journal said the links tying Coulibaly to a Belgian man who said he bought a car from Coulibaly's wife, Hayat Boumeddiene, were murky. Belgian authorities were investigating any connection between the two after the man was arrested in the southern Charleroi region for illegal trade in weapons, according to Belgium federal prosecutor's spokesman Eric Van der Sypt.

    The Belgian man's name has not been released. Boumeddiene is believed to have fled to Syria.

    The Charleroi region is located more than 70 miles southwest of Verviers and about 40 miles south of Brussels.

    A machine gun and handgun used by Coulibaly reportedly came from Brussels and Charleroi, The Telegraph reported citing unnamed police sources. In addition, the Klashnikov rifles and rocket launchers used by Cherif Kouachi and his brother, Said, in the attack on Charlie Hebdo's offices that left 12 dead were purchased by Coulibably in Brussels, The Telegraph reported.

    The newspaper said police and public prosecutors haven't confirmed a link to Belgium and the Paris terror attacks. Link
    “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

  • #2
    Some additional information from a press conference just held by the police in Belgium.
    - The police action was aimed at a group of Jihadi, of whom several were returned fighters from Syria. They fired at the police with heavy weapons when they came to apprehend them. 2 were killed in Verviers, one was shot in the stomach and is apprehended.
    - No police officers or civilians were killed or hurt in the actions.
    - Actions took place in Verviers and severall places in and around Brussels (Zaventem, Molenbeek and Brussel).
    - The timing might be due to some french-speaking newspapers reporting yesterday about a possible terrorist group in Verviers.
    - The terror-alarm has been increased from 2 to 3 (out of 4) for police related targets only which means police has to go out in at least pairs and has to wear bulletproof vests at all times. They are allowed to bring their guns with them when they go home, something they have been requesting in the past few days. Also several police stations have been closed completely, all of them in problematic quarters of Brussels. Unconfirmed rumors say the Jihadi plan was to storm a police station.
    - The Belgian police action isn't isolated. In total 8 countries would have held actions, but only Jemen is named so far.
    - The investigation was underway for severall weeks, but in the last week the investigation sped up. This might have been due to the Paris attacks or due to some french-speaking newspapers reporting yesterday about a possible terrorist group in Verviers.

    That's all that is know as of now, Tomorrow morning 11AM the Brussels prosecutor will give a new press conference.

    Comment


    • #3
      I wonder how much more of this we'll see in the next few weeks.
      “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

      Comment


      • #4
        Good shooting boys. Very clean op by the sounds of it.
        The best part of repentance is the sin

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
          I wonder how much more of this we'll see in the next few weeks.
          Germany ran ops throughout the country today, among other things arresting a guy who did basic training with a Syrian islamist rebel group in summer 2014.

          We also have raised temporary border patrols on the Schengen borders btw, which resulted in four Chechens suspected of terrorist attacks being turned back to France today.

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          • #6
            Was it a "setup" as well as some people are claiming in the recent case in US? -> http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/ame...bomb-plot.html

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            • #7
              a short summary of the press conference of the federal prosecutor in Brussels:

              The aim was to dismantle a terrorist cell, together with its logistical chain. Their aim was to kill police officers in function in public places. They wouldn't comment if the whole cell and chain is dismantled or how many were former Syrian-fighters.
              13 persons have been apprehended in several cities in Belgium, and 2 other persons with the Belgian nationality have been apprehended in France and are awaiting to be transferred to the Belgian authorities.
              In Verviers, where the shootout with the police happened, they found 4 AK47's, several handguns, munition, communication equipment, money and police uniforms.
              The police operation originated out of the Belgian security services and is said to be a complete Belgian operation, so no direct links with operations in other countries.

              Comment


              • #8
                a link to the BBC webpage article about the pressconference:
                BBC News - Belgium Verviers plot 'aimed to kill police'

                There isn't any direct link between the current operation and the attack in Paris, more especially, the person from Charleroi in custody where the French terrorist tried to buy guns didn't have any links with the cell that was the subject of this operation.

                The prosecutor office does regret the loss of 2 lives, but are happy no injuries or fatalities were cause among the police forces. They are sure however that they dealt the terrorists a heavy blow.

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