Two Dead as Police Raid Terror Suspects in Belgium
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ABC News(LIEGE, Belgium) — Two suspects died Thursday as counter-terror police searched a series of locations tied to people they believe were intent on launching terror operations in Belgium, officials said.
No police or civilians were hurt after suspects opened fire with automatic weapons at a location in Verviers, Belgium, Magistrate Eric Van der Sypt said. However, besides the two suspects killed, one suspect was injured, he said.
Officials were continuing their investigation, Van der Sypt said.
It was not clear how many arrests were made.
A neighbor at an apparent raid in Verviers, near the city of Liege, told ABC News he heard two big explosions and dozens of gunshots over about five minutes. Four to five police cars remained on the scene, the neighbor said, though the incident appeared to be over.
Besides Verviers, officials said raids occurred in Brussels and Halle-Vilvoorde, Belgium, after 10 search warrants were served.
Several of the suspects involved were believed to have recently returned from Syria.
“During the investigation we found that this group was about to commit terrorist attacks in Belgium,” Van der Sypt said.
A federal police spokesperson confirmed to ABC News on Thursday afternoon ET that operations were ongoing in multiple parts of Belgium including in the cities of Molenbeek, Brussels, and Vilvorde.
Belgium has sent a bigger proportion of foreign fighters than any other western nation, more than 350 from a country of about 11 million, according to the European Union law enforcement agency EuroPol. Security officials believe 28 residents from one Brussels suburb alone, Vilvoorde, have traveled to fight in Syria.
News of the police operation came one week after violence in neighboring France, where a massacre at the offices of newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a subsequent pair of hostage situations left at least 17 people dead. Van der Sypt said Thursday that there was no link between the Belgium raids and the Charlie Hebdo attack.
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