Seven suspected ISIS terrorists arrested in Belgium
After ten searches, seven people were arrested on Thursday, May 4 in Flanders for preparing a terrorist attack. © AFP/Kenzo Tribouillard
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
While the trial of the attacks of March 22, 2016 is underway in Brussels, Belgium apparently remains a target for Islamic terrorism. After ten searches, seven people were arrested on Thursday, May 4 in Flanders for preparing a terrorist attack.
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With our correspondent in Brussels, Pierre Benazet
The seven suspects arrested on Thursday, May 4 by the Belgian federal police are all Chechens or of Chechen origin since three of them also have Belgian nationality.
Few details are given about their identity and the federal prosecutor's office, which has jurisdiction in Belgium in terrorism matters, is content to say that there is a woman among the suspects. They were actively looking for weapons and their intention was to target an institution in Belgium; the headquarters of NATO was mentioned.
A stone's throw from the French border
They "could potentially" be charged with attempted terrorist assassination, participation in the activities of a terrorist group and preparation of an attack, says the federal prosecutor's office. Prosecutors describe the seven suspects as "staunch supporters" of ISIS.
The arrests all took place in Belgian Flanders, Ostend or Ghent, but most of the searches carried out on May 4 took place close to the French border, in Roeselare and Menin, a border town in the France.
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Read on on the same topics:
- Belgium
- Justice
- Terrorism
- NATO
- EI