On Thursday, two Belgian Police officers were attacked in the north Brussels commune of Schaerbeek in a suspected terror attack. The two officers were taken to the hospital where one of them (29) succumbed to injuries while the other one is undergoing treatment. Also, the attacker died at a hospital after he was shot at the scene.
According to the reports, the police officers were attacked at around 7:30 on Thursday evening by a sharp knife. Het Nieuwsblad reported that witnesses heard the man yell, “Allahu Akbar!” before attacking one of the police officers who was 29-year-old. The police officers in retaliation shot the attacker in the leg who later died after being taken to the hospital.
The Belgian Police suspect that the attack was a terror-related attack. The anti-terrorist squad of the Belgian Police has however taken over the investigation to identify the attacker and to know his motive. “We took charge of the case because there is suspicion of a terrorist motive, which will be confirmed or disproved by the investigators,” spokesman Eric Van Duyse said.
One of the witnesses of the incident happened to confirm that the police officers were on patrolling duty when the incident happened. The witness said that he heard five or six gunshots at around 7:30 pm and then saw a man lying on the street all covered in blood. “I started to get scared,” Kremel said.
Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo took cognizance of the incident and expressed his condolences to the family and friends of the deceased officer. “Our police officers risk life and limb every day to keep our society safe. Unfortunately, that is once again apparent today,” he said in a tweet.
Also, Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden described the incident as ‘terrible drama and heartbreaking news’. “My thoughts are first and foremost with the next of kin, the members of the police zone, and the entire police organization,” she tweeted.
Several terrorist attacks have occurred in Belgium over the previous few years. A similar attack happened in the year 2017 in Brussels where the soldiers were attacked by a sharp knife. The attacker died after one of the soldiers managed to shoot the attacker. ISIS had claimed the responsibility for the knife attack.
Also, in June of that year, a suspect was fatally shot at a Brussels subway station following a botched explosion that officials labeled a terrorist act. Further in March 2016, 31 people were killed and 300 were injured in coordinated attacks at the Brussels airport and a metro station.
