Machete attack may have been terror-inspired

The 33-year-old attacker, identified by the initials KB, had been living in Belgium since 2012, the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement yesterday.

He was staying illegally in the country at the time of the attack, having twice ignored orders to leave the country, the office of State Secretary for Migration Theo Francken said in a statement, according to the Belga news agency.

“But that at this stage hasn’t been confirmed by police, but it is being widely reported by media sources in and around the city of Charleroi”.

The attack on Saturday afternoon is being treated as a terrorist incident, notably because the man shouted “Allahu akbar!“.

Islamist bombers killed 32 people in suicide attacks in Brussels in March, and numerous jihadists who carried out attacks on Paris last November in which 130 people died were based in Belgium.

One of the officers was hit in the face with the machete blade and must undergo surgery for non-life threatening injuries. Two homes were also searched in connection with the investigation, the prosecutor said, without disclosing additional information.

Also on Sunday, the militant “Islamic State” (IS) group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the assailant was one of their “soldiers”.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel condemned the attack on Twitter on Saturday and said his thoughts go out to the victims and the police force.

Islamic State claims responsibility for machete attack in Belgium was posted in World of TheNews International – https://www.thenews.com.pk on August 07, 2016 and was last updated on August 07, 2016.

Islamist bombers killed 32 people in suicide attacks at Brussels airport and a metro station in March.

It happened right outside the main police station in Charleroi.

Local police said the two injured policewomen were out of danger, though both were placed in an induced coma. It said: “We confirm the death of the machete attacker”.

Michel’s spokesman, Barend Leyts, says the independent OCAM agency that assesses risks to Belgium’s internal security was consulted and made a decision to keep the current threat level unchanged.