Belgian police kill 2 in anti-terror raid during shootout

[webfact]

Belgian police kill 2 in anti-terror raid during shootout
RAF CASERT, Associated Press
LORNE COOK, Associated Press

VERVIERS, Belgium (AP) — With Europe dreading more terror, Belgian authorities moved swiftly to pre-empt what they called a major attack by as little as hours Thursday, killing two suspects in a firefight and arresting a third in a vast anti-terrorism sweep that stretched into the night.

The police raid on a former bakery in this provincial rustbelt town was another palpable sign that terror had seeped deep into Europe's heartland as security forces struck against returnees from Islamic holy war in Syria.

"You could smell the gunpowder," said neighbor Alexandre Massaux following a minutes-long firefight with automatic weapons and Kalashnikovs that was also punctuated by explosions.

Two suspects were killed and a third arrested and charged with belonging to a terrorist organization.

"As soon as they thought special forces were there, they opened fire," federal magistrate Eric Van der Sypt said.

After the gun smoke lifted, police continued with searches in Verviers and the greater Brussels area, seeking more clues in a weekslong investigation that started well before the terrorism spree last week that led to 17 deaths in the Paris area. The Belgian operations had no apparent link to the terrorist acts committed in France.

And, unlike the Paris terrorists, who attacked the office of a satirical newspaper and a kosher grocery store, the suspects in Belgium were reportedly aiming at hard targets: police installations.

"They were on the verge of committing important terror attacks," Van der Sypt told a news conference in Brussels.

Across Europe, anxiety has grown as the manhunt continues for potential accomplices of the three Paris terrorists, all of whom were shot dead by French police. Authorities in Belgium signaled they were ready for more trouble by raising the national terror alert level from 2 to 3, the second-highest level.

"It shows we have to be extremely careful," Van der Sypt said. The Verviers suspects "were extremely well-armed men" equipped with automatic weapons, he said. Authorities have previously said 300 Belgian residents have gone to fight with extremist Islamic formations in Syria; it is unclear how many have returned.

Prime Minister Charles Michel said the increase in the threat level was "a choice for prudence."

"There is no concrete or specific knowledge of new elements of threat," he said.

The suspects in Verviers opened fire on police when they closed in on them near the city's train station, the magistrate told reporters. There was an intense firefight for several minutes. Video posted online showed a dark view of a building amid blasts, gunshots and sirens, and a fire with smoke billowing up.

No police were wounded or killed in the clash, which occurred at the height of rush hour in a crowded neighborhood of this former industrial town of 56,000 about 80 miles (125 kilometers) southeast of the capital, Brussels.

Earlier Thursday, Belgian authorities said they were looking into possible links between a man they arrested in the southern city of Charleroi for illegal trade in weapons and Amedy Coulibaly, who killed four people in a Paris kosher market last week.

The man arrested in Belgium "claims that he wanted to buy a car from the wife of Coulibaly," Van der Sypt said. "At this moment this is the only link between what happened in Paris."

Van der Sypt said that "of course, naturally" we are continuing the investigation.

At first, the man came to police himself claiming there had been contact with Coulibaly's common-law wife regarding the car, but he was arrested following a search of his premises when indications of illegal weapons trading were found.

A Belgian connection figured in a 2010 French criminal investigation into a foiled terrorist plot in which Coulibaly was one of the convicted co-conspirators. The plotters included a Brussels-area contact who was supposed to furnish both weapons and ammunition, according to French judicial documents obtained by The Associated Press.

Several other countries are also involved in the hunt for possible accomplices to Coulibaly and the other gunmen in the French attacks, brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi.

In Spain, authorities said Coulibaly drove his common-law wife from France to Madrid on Dec. 31 and was with her until she took a Jan. 2 flight to Istanbul.

Spain's National Court said in a statement it was investigating what Coulibaly did in the country's capital with his wife, Hayat Boumeddiene, and a third person who wasn't identified but is suspected of helping Boumeddiene get from Turkey to Syria.

France is on edge since last week's attacks, which began at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The paper, repeatedly threatened for its caricatures of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, buried several of its slain staff members Thursday even as it reprinted another weekly issue with Muhammad on its cover.

Also, defense officials said France was under an unprecedented cyber assault with 19,000 cyberattacks launched after the country's bloodiest terrorist attacks in decades, frustrating authorities as they try to thwart repeat violence.

Around 120,000 security forces are deployed to prevent future attacks.

Calling it an unprecedented surge, Adm. Arnaud Coustilliere, head of cyberdefense for the French military, said about 19,000 French websites had faced cyberattacks in recent days, some carried out by well-known Islamic hacker groups.

The attacks, mostly relatively minor denial-of-service attacks, hit sites as varied as military regiments to pizza shops but none appeared to have caused serious damage, he said. Military authorities launched round-the-clock surveillance to protect the government sites still coming under attack.

The Kouachi brothers claimed allegiance to al-Qaida in Yemen, and Coulibaly to the Islamic State group.
___

Casert reported from Brussels. Associates Press writers John-Thor Dahlburg, Greg Keller, Jamey Keaten, Angela Charlton, Sylvie Corbet, Lori Hinnant, Matthew Lee and Nicolas Vaux-Montagny in Paris and Jorge Sainz in Madrid contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-01-16

[daveAustin]

I feel these attacks are only going to get worse and can see some kind of dystopian future for Europe, where the people begin to vent their anger and thus exacerbate it all. Whether it toughens up or rests on its laurels, unfortunately I think Europe is basically screwed, in large part through its own ideals.

[NeverSure]

These people sure have a strange way of advertising that they are just nice people who want to fit into Western society.

[zydeco]

Another event that politicians and religious figures can assure us had nothing to do with Islam.

[weegee]

Good on Belgium...Dont muck around with them. It's going to be a long hard fight back now, and this sends a message that, decent people have weapons too, and know how to use them.

Bit different when the other side bights back, hey?

[canman]

I feel these attacks are only going to get worse and can see some kind of dystopian future for Europe, where the people begin to vent their anger and thus exacerbate it all. Whether it toughens up or rests on its laurels, unfortunately I think Europe is basically screwed, in large part through its own ideals.

I agree, Europe is slowly but surely being islamified. Britain is not far behind and even America is starting to bend over for jihad by stealth:

US university's plan to allow Muslim call to prayer from Christian chapel causes controversy:http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11387319

Boston Public School Teaching Islamic Conversion Prayer to Elementary Students http://shoebat.com/2014/10/27/boston-school-teaching-islamic-conversion-prayer-elementary-students/

Edited January 16, 2015 by canman

[HeijoshinCool]

"They were on the verge of committing important terror attacks," Van der Sypt told a news conference in Brussels.

Is that more serious than unimportant terrorist acts?

[tartempion]

At last getting proactive

[klauskunkel]

I feel these attacks are only going to get worse and can see some kind of dystopian future for Europe, where the people begin to vent their anger and thus exacerbate it all. Whether it toughens up or rests on its laurels, unfortunately I think Europe is basically screwed, in large part through its own ideals.

I agree, Europe is slowly but surely being islamified. Britain is not far behind and even America is starting to bend over for jihad by stealth:

US university's plan to allow Muslim call to prayer from Christian chapel causes controversy:http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11387319

Boston Public School Teaching Islamic Conversion Prayer to Elementary Students http://shoebat.com/2014/10/27/boston-school-teaching-islamic-conversion-prayer-elementary-students/

The name "Europe" will be changed to "Oddly Shaped Greater Western Caliphate With Two Islands to The Left Of It".

They are still debating how to substitute "European"

[Don Aleman]

Now, they should fight fir with fire : Mail back to their mothers their heads with a DVD of their burials with pigs !

[i claudius]

More integration from the religion of peace.

[Thorgal]

AK-47's used at Charlie Hebdo came from Belgium.

Belgian police is trying to sort out this network of weapons, ex-jihadi's, etc...

More official news at 10 am local time.

Edited January 16, 2015 by Thorgal

[Nemesis7]

Speculations....

[Steely Dan]

More returnees from Syria, why oh why don't they cancel the passports of all those returning from Syria? This is a two way winner as it stops the Islamist contagion spreading whilst upsetting the Liberals as well.

[chuckd]

I feel these attacks are only going to get worse and can see some kind of dystopian future for Europe, where the people begin to vent their anger and thus exacerbate it all. Whether it toughens up or rests on its laurels, unfortunately I think Europe is basically screwed, in large part through its own ideals.

I agree, Europe is slowly but surely being islamified. Britain is not far behind and even America is starting to bend over for jihad by stealth:

US university's plan to allow Muslim call to prayer from Christian chapel causes controversy:http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11387319

Boston Public School Teaching Islamic Conversion Prayer to Elementary Students http://shoebat.com/2014/10/27/boston-school-teaching-islamic-conversion-prayer-elementary-students/

"US university's plan to allow Muslim call to prayer from Christian chapel causes controversy"

Duke University decided to call an "oopsie" on their earlier announcement supporting the Friday call to prayer.

They have since declared it is a non-event due to an increasing amount of angst from the local citizenry.

[daveAustin]

Now, they should fight fir with fire : Mail back to their mothers their heads with a DVD of their burials with pigs !

While I agree in principle, the problem with doing that is it'll Islamify many more, turn moderates into nutcases and kick off in a big way, which is what these pigs want. Europe is trying to do the right thing by accommodating all (and of course most Muslims are decent people), but at the expense of its own cultures it seems. It can't win as the stable door is wide open and the horse has already bolted.

[canman]

I feel these attacks are only going to get worse and can see some kind of dystopian future for Europe, where the people begin to vent their anger and thus exacerbate it all. Whether it toughens up or rests on its laurels, unfortunately I think Europe is basically screwed, in large part through its own ideals.

I agree, Europe is slowly but surely being islamified. Britain is not far behind and even America is starting to bend over for jihad by stealth:

US university's plan to allow Muslim call to prayer from Christian chapel causes controversy:http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11387319

Boston Public School Teaching Islamic Conversion Prayer to Elementary Students http://shoebat.com/2014/10/27/boston-school-teaching-islamic-conversion-prayer-elementary-students/

"US university's plan to allow Muslim call to prayer from Christian chapel causes controversy"

Duke University decided to call an "oopsie" on their earlier announcement supporting the Friday call to prayer.

They have since declared it is a non-event due to an increasing amount of angst from the local citizenry.

Yes, saw that. Still gob smacked that they could even suggest it.

[chuckd]

I feel these attacks are only going to get worse and can see some kind of dystopian future for Europe, where the people begin to vent their anger and thus exacerbate it all. Whether it toughens up or rests on its laurels, unfortunately I think Europe is basically screwed, in large part through its own ideals.

I agree, Europe is slowly but surely being islamified. Britain is not far behind and even America is starting to bend over for jihad by stealth:

US university's plan to allow Muslim call to prayer from Christian chapel causes controversy:http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11387319

Boston Public School Teaching Islamic Conversion Prayer to Elementary Students http://shoebat.com/2014/10/27/boston-school-teaching-islamic-conversion-prayer-elementary-students/

"US university's plan to allow Muslim call to prayer from Christian chapel causes controversy"

Duke University decided to call an "oopsie" on their earlier announcement supporting the Friday call to prayer.

They have since declared it is a non-event due to an increasing amount of angst from the local citizenry.

Yes, saw that. Still gob smacked that they could even suggest it.

Agreed.

Most of the universities in the US don't have the brightest bulbs in the chandelier leading them.

[arjunadawn]

Each day I am increasingly numbed by both the slaughter upon the west and the lack of good options to employ.

[JockPieandBeans]

Each day I am increasingly numbed by both the slaughter upon the west and the lack of good options to employ.

There are no good options to employ.

That is why the " Political Elite " along with the PC Brigade refuse to acknowledge what is happening.

[arjunadawn]

Each day I am increasingly numbed by both the slaughter upon the west and the lack of good options to employ.

There are no good options to employ.

That is why the " Political Elite " along with the PC Brigade refuse to acknowledge what is happening.

I had a back and forth yesterday with one or two people regarding "solutions." One poster questioned why I can have information to provide so easily yet have no solutions? It wasn't an unfair question but not providing solutions does not make the observations wrong. I thought about it.

I actually believe the solutions necessary should not be openly posted online at this time. As I am confident this problem will greatly and daily escalate the time will shortly come when common people will be ready to discuss openly uncommon remedies. There is a frightening reality marching upon the western world- the west has become complacent and lives a fraudulent existence presuming the great evils of the world are in story books or history books, but no, not here, no, not now. This is totally incorrect and this thinking informs the denial we see everywhere.

Jihad can only be defeated by strength. Jihad cannot be defeated by the false notion of empowering "moderate" muslims to reform their faith. Islam has no mechanics for "moderate;" you are either a believer or an apostate. With every stumble, every success, every bombing, and each sensational news header, jihad gains an aura of invincibility. This is among the single greatest weapons an insurgency can have. What happened in Belgian will not remotely begin to stop this train.

[ravip]

They said it openly couple of years back, didn't they?

Well... this is just the start, I guess

Edit

What one must analyse is what the root cause is, which is very obvious to the seeker.

The worst part is, it is NOT only the west that is threatened.

Edited January 16, 2015 by ravip

[ravip]

Good on Belgium...Dont muck around with them. It's going to be a long hard fight back now, and this sends a message that, decent people have weapons too, and know how to use them.

Bit different when the other side bights back, hey?

hey, ever heard of the 'other-sides' cruel, indiscriminate bloody massacres?

1 dead terrorist maybe = to a 20 innocents (or what you call decent people, even with weapons)

[cookee68]

These people sure have a strange way of advertising that they are just nice people who want to fit into Western society.

These people are scum. what do you expect if you keep giving into every little whim, the world should open its eyes and smell the shit that they bring, and know everyone talks about them seems to have got them excited,

[cookee68]

I feel these attacks are only going to get worse and can see some kind of dystopian future for Europe, where the people begin to vent their anger and thus exacerbate it all. Whether it toughens up or rests on its laurels, unfortunately I think Europe is basically screwed, in large part through its own ideals.

I agree, Europe is slowly but surely being islamified. Britain is not far behind and even America is starting to bend over for jihad by stealth:

US university's plan to allow Muslim call to prayer from Christian chapel causes controversy:http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11387319

Boston Public School Teaching Islamic Conversion Prayer to Elementary Students http://shoebat.com/2014/10/27/boston-school-teaching-islamic-conversion-prayer-elementary-students/

"US university's plan to allow Muslim call to prayer from Christian chapel causes controversy"

Duke University decided to call an "oopsie" on their earlier announcement supporting the Friday call to prayer.

They have since declared it is a non-event due to an increasing amount of angst from the local citizenry.

Yes, saw that. Still gob smacked that they could even suggest it.

I think that it was an insult for them to even suggest it, give them an inch and they will take a country

[Bakeman]

Their next attack will be its follow through. Time for the WORLD to fix these turds.

[Steely Dan]

Each day I am increasingly numbed by both the slaughter upon the west and the lack of good options to employ.

There are no good options to employ.

That is why the " Political Elite " along with the PC Brigade refuse to acknowledge what is happening.

I had a back and forth yesterday with one or two people regarding "solutions." One poster questioned why I can have information to provide so easily yet have no solutions? It wasn't an unfair question but not providing solutions does not make the observations wrong. I thought about it.

I actually believe the solutions necessary should not be openly posted online at this time. As I am confident this problem will greatly and daily escalate the time will shortly come when common people will be ready to discuss openly uncommon remedies. There is a frightening reality marching upon the western world- the west has become complacent and lives a fraudulent existence presuming the great evils of the world are in story books or history books, but no, not here, no, not now. This is totally incorrect and this thinking informs the denial we see everywhere.

Jihad can only be defeated by strength. Jihad cannot be defeated by the false notion of empowering "moderate" muslims to reform their faith. Islam has no mechanics for "moderate;" you are either a believer or an apostate. With every stumble, every success, every bombing, and each sensational news header, jihad gains an aura of invincibility. This is among the single greatest weapons an insurgency can have. What happened in Belgian will not remotely begin to stop this train.

I have been asked the same and came up with the observation that there are no Liberal solutions. I actually abhor that we have got to this stage but events seem to accelerate with the advent of globalization and migration. The rights conferred on citizens in democracies might well be severely curtailed in extremis, though this curtailment is the norm in many parts of the world already, where ethnic cleansing and genocide are used to rid a population of its undesirables, which boils down to race/religion or politics determining just who is undesirable.

P.s if anyone doubts which way the wind is blowing Norway was mooting a policy of paying immigrants who had not worked in ten years a cash sum if they returned to where they came from. Now Noway is about as deep in denial as it gets, but this golden boot that was discussed may become less golden, more quickly applied and compulsory if financial and social constraints are sufficient.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Steely Dan

[H1w4yR1da]

Good on Belgium...Dont muck around with them. It's going to be a long hard fight back now, and this sends a message that, decent people have weapons too, and know how to use them.

Bit different when the other side bights back, hey?

hey, ever heard of the 'other-sides' cruel, indiscriminate bloody massacres?

1 dead terrorist maybe = to a 20 innocents (or what you call decent people, even with weapons)

Probably best not to associate with terrorists then.

[maidee]

an explosive bakery ?