The special units raided four different addresses across the country early this morning. This was accompanied by significant security measures. They were looking for four people who had contact on the Internet and devised a plan for a terrorist attack.
This concerns one adult from Liège, and three minors from Ninove, Brussels and Charleroi. All four are French-speaking. They found each other on the internet. From the conversations they had there, it could be deduced that they have been radicalized. They allegedly talked about Islamic State, among other things.
“They are suspected of participating in a terrorist group and of preparing a terrorist attack,” says Eric Van Der Sypt of the federal public prosecutor’s office. No weapons or explosives were found during the searches.
It had not yet been determined what the target of that attack would be. “But we prefer to intervene in such a situation,” says the federal public prosecutor’s office. “Better too early than too late.”
statement Eric Van Der Sypt Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office
15 year-old
“The local police had been informed in advance,” says Tania De Jonge (Open VLD), mayor of Ninove. “They provided assistance very discreetly.”
The person wanted in Ninove is a 15-year-old who came to live in the city last summer. His house in Ninove was searched on Sunday. But he was eventually arrested in Brussels.
“People who may have been radicalized are monitored by our local integral security cell (LIVC),” says Mayor De Jonge. “It meets monthly. This boy was not followed up there yet, since he had only lived in the city for such a short time. The LIVC will go into this in more detail. Also the question of how we can raise awareness. Combating radicalization is an important issue for Ninove, which we have been working on since 2015.”
This concerns one adult from Liège, and three minors from Ninove, Brussels and Charleroi. All four are French-speaking. They found each other on the internet. From the conversations they had there, it could be deduced that they have been radicalized. They allegedly talked about Islamic State, among other things.
“They are suspected of participating in a terrorist group and of preparing a terrorist attack,” says Eric Van Der Sypt of the federal public prosecutor’s office. No weapons or explosives were found during the searches.
It had not yet been determined what the target of that attack would be. “But we prefer to intervene in such a situation,” says the federal public prosecutor’s office. “Better too early than too late.”
