World
Gunman Abdesalem Lassoued who opened fire in Brussels said he’s a member of ISIS, wanted to “avenge Muslims”
The victims are reported to be Swedish tourists who were in town for a Euro 2024 football match.
Moments of panic in the center of Brussels , where at least two people died after a man opened fire with a Kalashnikov rifle shouting “Allah akbar”.
The person responsible has fled and the police are on his trail. The toll, at the moment, is two people dead and some injured.
According to initial information, the man hymned Allah . The victims are Swedish nationals, to be precise two football fans who arrived in Belgium to support the Scandinavian national team playing in Brussels for the qualifiers for the next European football championships.
The match was suspended at 1-1 for safety reasons and then canceled after the Scandinavian players refused to return to the field. Fans were held inside the stadium.
The attack took place shortly after 7pm Italian time on Boulevard d’Ypres , in the center of Brussels.
From the images taken by a resident of the area, a man with a fluorescent orange jacket and a white helmet can be seen holding a rifle as he gets on a scooter. Other videos show the man shooting passers-by in the lobby of a building and then at some cars.
The images show the man fleeing after shooting and killing two Swedish nationals. According to what was reported by the Italian ambassador in Brussels, the attacker was of Tunisian nationality.
According to sources from the Belgian Ministry of the Interior, it could be a 45-year-old asylum seeker.
According to the Belgian police, who immediately set out on the trail of the fleeing attacker, the man shouted “Allah akbar” while shooting at his victims. The man shot in the lobby of a building and then at other people in a taxi.
In addition to the two dead Swedes, who apparently were wearing the shirt of their national football team playing in the Heysel stadium in the evening , there were other people injured.
The terrorist – whose name would be Abdeslam Jilani – shot a video in which he claims to belong to ISIS and boasts of having killed infidels. In the video posted on Facebook, according to what was reported by the Belgian media, the attacker said that he had carried out the gesture to “avenge Muslims” and that he belonged to ISIS.
The area of the attack was immediately cordoned off by the police and the passage of vehicles and people was prohibited. Several emergency vehicles responded to the scene.
Belgium has raised the alert nationwide to level four , the maximum expected in these situations. Security measures have been strengthened around the stadium that will host the Belgium-Sweden match.
Throughout the week, in light of what is happening between Israel and Hamas, the level of attention had been raised in Belgium. In fact, other attacks claimed by Islamic extremists had been recorded in the past in the country.
