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
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
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