Gunman Shouting 'Allahu Akbar' Rocks Brussels with Deadly Terror Attack - Pays with His Life
Two Swedish soccer fans were killed Monday in a terrorist attack in Belgium that rocked the city of Brussels. The suspected gunman was later killed by police.
Video obtained by Belgian news outlet Het Laatste Nieuws reveals a man wearing a high visibility vest firing a weapon as he ran in the direction of fleeing pedestrians.
The attack, which took place in the vicinity of a soccer match between the national teams of Belgium and Sweden, led authorities to confine the 35,000 present for the match inside the arena for several hours, according to The Associated Press.
The victims were wearing Swedish soccer shirts, according to The New York Times.
BREAKING: A man who allegedly claimed to be an ISIS member has shot and killed 2 people in Brussels just days after former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal called on Muslims to take action.
Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws claims the man used an automatic rifle and was avenging… pic.twitter.com/WmiWPGWwPz
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 16, 2023
The gunman also made use of a scooter-style vehicle, yelling the Islamic chant “Allahu akbar” in one video.
ISIS terrorist is literally riding around the heart of #Brussels screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ on a motorbike in a bright orange jacket and carrying an assault rifle.
Police can’t find him. #Brussels #Bruxelles pic.twitter.com/HCenjpiDob— Paul Golding (@GoldingBF) October 16, 2023
Details of the man’s death were sketchy, but the Times reported that he was shot by police after an overnight search and died after being taken to a hospital. A weapon was found were the man was shot, according to the Times.
#WATCH : Brussels terror suspect has been killed.#Brussels #BrusselsAttack #BrusselsTerrorAttack #brusselsUnderAttack #USA #ISIS #Terrorist #ISISterrorist #latest #BREAKING_NEWS #Belgium #Bruxelles #BelgiumShooting#BREAKING_NEWS pic.twitter.com/mFgwuEdBft
— Virat Kohli 🇮🇳 (@PandeyHoga) October 17, 2023
A spokesman for Belgium’s federal prosecutor indicated that the suspect expressed his loyalty to the Islamic State terrorist organization, according to Politico.
“The victims’ Swedish nationality was mentioned as a probable motive for the act,” Eric van Duyse.
“At this stage, there is no evidence of any connection with the Israeli-Palestinian situation.”
Sweden has been publicly targeted by terrorist groups, according to the AP.
“Sweden raised its terror alert to the second-highest level in August after a series of public Quran-burnings by an Iraqi refugee living in Sweden resulted in threats from Islamic militant groups,” the wire service noted.
A third victim — identified as a cab driver — was injured in the attack.
A man alternatively identified as “Abdesalem Lassoued” and “Slayem Slouma” bragged about his planned rampage and Islamic motives on videos uploaded to Facebook before the attack, according to the U.K. Daily Mail.
Swedish soccer fans temporarily confined inside the stadium responded with an expression of national pride in defiance of the act of terrorism.
Confined after the terrorist attack in #Brussels , #Belgian and #Swedish supporters chanted #Sweden in support of the Swedish victims #Brussels #Bruxelles #Belgium #Belswe #attentat #terrorism pic.twitter.com/Z1jXIcUVxH
— White Vador ➿ (@AleaJactaEs666) October 16, 2023
The shootings took place before the kickoff of the Sweden-Belgium soccer game, a UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match, according to the London Evening Standard. It was tied at 1-1 at halftime when the Swedish players decided they did not want to continue the competition because of the killings, the newspaper reported.
The game was stopped after the Belgian players agreed.
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