Terrorist activity in Belgium
Belgium is understood by Western students of contemporary terrorism as a country that serves primarily as a jihadist base, although it has suffered a number of violent terrorist attacks.
Jihadist base
Belgium has been the base of operations for a number of terrorist attacks, including the November 2015 Paris attacks.[1] It has also been the place where some Islamist militants developed militant views before going to the Middle East to fight with ISIS.[1]
Context
Belgium, has a population of 11 million, including large numbers of immigrants from Muslim countries. 100,000 Moroccan citizens live in Belgium, often descended from Moroccans recruited to work in the mining industry in the 1960s.[1] A tiny fraction of this large Muslim population has participated in terrorist attacks.[1]
List of Islam-related terrorist incidents in Belgium
Attacks related to Middle East politics
- 1985
- 1 August 1985: Silco incident Kidnapping of Belgian-Franch family by the government of Libya; they were held for almost five years.[2]
Antisemitic attacks
- 1980
- 28 July 1980: 1980 Antwerp summer camp attack. A Syria-born Palestinian, Said Al Nasr, used grenades to attack a group of 40 Jewish children waiting with their families for a bus to take them to summer camp. One boy was killed and 20 other people were wounded in the attack.[3] The explosion killed one boy, identified as 15-year-old Parisian David Kuhan, and wounded 20, aged 13 to 27, eight of whom had to be hospitalized,[3]
- 1981
- 20 October 1981: 1981 Antwerp bombing Bombing of an Antwerp synagogue.[4]
Islamist attacks
Terrorism experts regard ISIS activities in Europe's Francophone area as a single, French-Belgian nexus of Islamic State activity and attacks.[5]
- 2014
- 24 May 2014: Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting. ISIS directed attack on the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels by a French national in contact with ISIS.[6]
- 2016
- 22 March 2016: 2016 Brussels bombings. Two ISIS suicide bombings occurred at Brussels Airport in Zaventem, and one at Maalbeek metro station in central Brussels.[7] Thirty-two civilians and three perpetrators were killed, and more than 300 people were injured. Another bomb was found during a search of the airport. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attacks.[8]
- 6 August 2016: 2016 stabbing of Charleroi police officers. ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack on Belgian police officers by an Algerian national who had been scheduled for deportation.[9]
- 5 October 2016: 2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers ISIS-inspired lone wolf stabbing of three police officers in Brussels.[10][11][12]
- 2017
- 20 June 2017: an explosion occurred in the Brussels Central train station, a failed bombing attempt by Moroccan lone wolf Oussama Zariouh.[13]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Schreuer, Milan (21 June 2017). "Brussels Train Station Bombing Renews Focus on Belgium as Jihadist Base". New York Times. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ↑ "FREED HOSTAGES 'IN BELGIAN HANDS' FAMILY HEADS HOME AFTER PALESTINIAN GUERRILLA LEAVES PRISON NEAR BRUSSELS". Orlando Sentinel. Reuters. 13 January 1991. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
- 1 2 "Jewish youth dies in blast of grenade". The Globe and Mail. 28 July 1980. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
- ↑ "Palestinian guerrillas claim synagogue bombing". UPI. 21 October 1981.
- ↑ Brisard, Jean-Charles (10 November 2016). "The Islamic State’s External Operations and the French-Belgian Nexus". Combating Terrorism Center Sentinel. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
- ↑ "Abdelhamid Abaaoud, l’instigateur présumé des attentats tué à Saint-Denis" [Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged instigator of the attacks killed at Saint-Denis]. Le Monde. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ↑ Lasoen, Kenneth (2017). "Indications and warning in Belgium. Brussels is not Delphi". Journal of Strategic Studies. 40. doi:10.1080/01402390.2017.1288111.
- ↑ "Another bomb found in Brussels after attacks kill at least 34; Islamic State claims responsibility". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- ↑ "Policières attaquées en Belgique: six interpellations". AFP. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- ↑ Samuel, Henry (5 October 2016). "Two policemen injured in Brussels stabbing in suspected terror attack". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ↑ Dewan, Angela; Isaac, Lindsay (5 October 2016). "Two Brussels police officers stabbed in terror attack, prosecutor says". CNN. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ↑ "Suspects face terrorism charges after raids in Belgium". DW. 18 November 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- ↑ "Brüssel: Verdächtiger nach Explosion in Brüsseler Bahnhof "neutralisiert"". Die Zeit (in German). 2017-06-20. ISSN 0044-2070. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
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