A teenager suspected of planning to attack a mosque was arrested Thursday in Brussels, and weapons were seized from his home, announced the prosecutor's office in the Belgian capital.
This Thursday, a teenager suspected of planning an attack against a mosque was arrested in Brussels.
The suspect, aged 14, who would be a sympathizer of the extreme right, “planned to commit an attack against a mosque this Friday, January 24, a day of prayer and crowds in mosques,” said the prosecution, without mentioning a specific location.
In a press release, the prosecution indicated that it had been informed of this project on Wednesday, based on “declassified confidential information”. Hence the decision to carry out a search of the suspect's home on Thursday at dawn. “Weapons and computer equipment” were seized.
After this arrest in Brussels, the prosecution requested the placement of the suspect in a closed center for minors. He is suspected in particular of “preparing a terrorist attack”.
-600 people registered for extremism
In its latest activity report published in mid-January, the State Security, civil intelligence in Belgium, calculated “nearly a third” the proportion of under 18s among people involved in terrorism cases.
Currently around 600 people are registered as extremists who are subject to special monitoring by Ocam, the Belgian agency for analyzing the terrorist threat.
A large majority belong to the jihadist movement, but some “on file” are also on file for their sympathies for far-right movements. There were around sixty of them in an Ocam count at the end of 2022, which did not distinguish between adults and minors.
Related News :