January 2015 anti-terrorism operations in Belgium
| 2015 anti-terrorism operations in Belgium | |
|---|---|
| Part of Islamic terrorism in Europe (2014–present) | |
Location of the province of Liège within Belgium
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| Location | Verviers, Liège, Belgium |
| Coordinates | 50°35′23″N 5°51′47″E / 50.589818°N 5.862967°ECoordinates: 50°35′23″N 5°51′47″E / 50.589818°N 5.862967°E |
| Date | 15 January 2015 |
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Attack type
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Police raid |
| Deaths | 2 suspects |
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Non-fatal injuries
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1 suspect |
On 15 January 2015, Belgian police carried out a raid on premises in Verviers, Belgium. According to news sources, the raids were an anti-terrorist operation against Islamist radicals.
Two suspects died in the raids, which involved heavy gunfire, with a third being seriously wounded.
Other operations were carried out in Brussels and the nearby communes of Schaerbeek, Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Vilvoorde, and Zaventem. An armed man was reported to have been arrested in Brussels.
The Belgian prosecutor's office stated that the raids were an operation against a jihadist terrorist cell, reportedly believed to have links to ISIS, on the verge of committing a terrorist attack.
Police are investigating the possibility of links to the Charlie Hebdo shooting in neighbouring France. The men killed in the raid, Redouane Hagaoui and Tarik Jadaoun, were alleged by police to have been planning to attack sellers of the "survivors' issue" of Charlie Hebdo released following the attack in Paris.
The cell was led by Abdelhamid Abaaoud via telephone from Athens, who evaded capture in the Greek capital. In November that year, he led an attack in Paris.
On 17 January 2015, the Belgian government began a deployment of troops throughout Belgium to defend potential terrorist targets.
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