Two individuals from Sweden were killed and another person was injured in downtown Brussels on Monday evening.
An individual, professing affiliation with the Islamic State, took responsibility for the act in an online video.
The alleged attacker escaped the location just as a soccer game between Belgium and Sweden was set to commence, resulting in an extensive search operation and the elevation of Belgium’s terror threat level to its peak.
The Belgian federal prosecutor clarified that there’s no evidence tying the attacker to the recent flare-up between Israel and Palestinian factions. The primary reason for the assault seemed to be the Swedish background of the victims, as per the prosecutor.
The alleged perpetrator, identifying himself as Abdesalem Al Guilani in an online video, professed to be acting in the name of Allah.
The third victim, who was injured but not critically, was identified as a cab driver by the federal prosecutor. The local populace in Brussels and European Commission staff were advised to remain indoors due to the looming threat.
On his part, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said: “I have just offered my sincere condolences to the Swedish PM following tonight’s harrowing attack on Swedish citizens in Brussels.”
“Our thoughts are with the families and friends who lost their loved ones. As close partners, the fight against terrorism is a joint one,” he wrote on X.
A spokesperson for the federal prosecutor’s office said the suspect, believed to be a radicalised Tunisian national living illegally in Belgium, had been arrested in the city’s Schaerbeek neighbourhood, where a building had been searched during the night.
“The police opened fire” the spokesperson said, but would not confirm if the suspect was hit or not.
