A counter-terrorism raid in the eastern Belgian town of Verviers ended in bloodshed Thursday evening, with Belgian police reporting the death of two terrorists and one injury and capture of another following an exchange of gunfire with police.
Just hours after a Belgian weapons dealer suspected of arming the brothers responsible for last week’s deadly attack on Paris-based magazine Charlie Hebdo turned himself in to police, Belgian television channel RTBF reported that an investigative raid near a train station in Verviers suddenly turned violent.
Amateur video of the assault shows a building in flames as police shout and gunshots ring out. Explosions reverberated through the early evening air after the suspects opened fire on officers serving a search warrant.
The police fought back and killed two of the suspects, who authorities claim had just returned from Syria. Per capita, Belgium has the highest number of citizens fighting for jihadist organizations in that war-wracked region.
At an evening news conference, Belgian police said none of their own were harmed in the assault. The raid is part of a broader counter-terror sweep ongoing throughout the small European nation.
A police spokesman claimed the terrorists were part of an Islamic terror network in the final planning stages of a “major imminent attack.” Belgium has raised its terror alert level in the wake of the gun battle.
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