Brussels shootings: Gunman who killed two Swedes shot lifeless by means of police

BRUSSELS, Oct 17 (Reuters) – A Tunisian gunman suspected of killing two Swedish soccer enthusiasts in Brussels died on Tuesday after being shot by means of police in a restaurant, hours after an assault which Sweden’s top minister mentioned confirmed Europe should bolster safety to offer protection to itself.The 45-year-old, who known himself as a member of Islamic State and claimed accountability in a video posted on-line, could also be suspected of injuring every other Swedish nationwide in his assault in central Brussels on Monday evening .”It is a time for extra safety, we will be able to’t be naive,” Swedish High Minister Ulf Kristersson instructed a information convention in Stockholm, calling for stricter border controls in Europe.”Those terrorists need to scare us into obedience and silence. That won’t occur,” he mentioned.The capturing got here at a time of heightened safety considerations throughout a lot of Europe related to the Israel-Hamas war.A Belgian federal prosecutor first of all mentioned there used to be no proof that the attacker had any hyperlink to the renewed war between Israel and Palestinian militants, however that used to be now not excluded, RTBF broadcaster mentioned.In August, Sweden raised its terrorism alert to the second-highest degree and warned of an build up in threats towards Swedes at house and in another country after Koran burnings outraged Muslims and induced threats from jihadists.Video pictures of the assault posted at the Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper web site confirmed a person in an orange jacket on a scooter at a boulevard intersection with a rifle first firing 5 pictures, then following folks fleeing right into a construction prior to firing once more.”I noticed the assailant input the construction and shoot two times against the person – the person fell to the bottom. I noticed him fall as a result of I used to be simply close by,” mentioned a witness, who known himself as Souleymane.”I stayed there, I used to be frozen, I could not transfer. I am nonetheless shivering on account of what took place.”In step with a media transcript of the video message recorded by means of the self-declared offender, the attacker mentioned he had killed Swedes to avenge Muslims.The sufferers had been a person elderly round 70 from the Stockholm area, and a person elderly about 60 who lived in another country, Sweden’s overseas ministry mentioned, including that the injured guy, additionally round 70, used to be nonetheless in clinic.’VULNERABLE'[1/9]Law enforcement officials paintings after a police operation towards a perilous capturing suspect, in Brussels, Belgium, October 17, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman Achieve Licensing RightsThe Brussels assault got here simply days after a trainer used to be fatally stabbed in northern France in an assault which President Emmanuel Macron condemned as “barbaric Islamic terrorism”.”All Ecu states are prone ,” Macron mentioned on Tuesday, talking of a “resurgence of Islamist terrorism”.In a video on social media, the suspected gunman referred to as himself Abdesalem Al Guilani.He unsuccessfully sought asylum in Belgium in 2019, used to be residing within the nation illegally and used to be recognized to Belgian police in reference to folks smuggling, Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne mentioned.He fled the scene after the capturing as a soccer fit between Belgium and Sweden used to be about to begin, triggering a manhunt and prompting Belgium to lift the terrorism alert in its capital to its perfect degree.”The offender centered in particular Swedish supporters who had been in Brussels to wait a Crimson Devils football fit,” Belgian High Minister Alexander De Croo mentioned, calling it a “brutal terrorist assault”.Belgium used to be internet hosting Sweden in a Euro 2024 qualifying fit. The fit used to be deserted at halftime.De Croo instructed RTL TV that the attacker looked as if it would have acted by myself, however that investigations had been ongoing.Government warned the general public to be further vigilant and steer clear of needless shuttle.Armed police stood guard out of doors the suspect’s condominium within the Brussels suburb of Schaerbeek whilst investigators accrued proof.The Ecu Fee, which is based totally in Brussels, has recommended personnel to earn a living from home. Some colleges had been closed.Belgium has been the objective of a number of Islamist assaults over fresh years, the deadliest being the 2016 assault on Brussels airport and the town’s metro, through which 32 folks died.A number of of the Islamist gunmen who centered Paris in a 2015 assault that killed 130 folks had been Belgian or residing in Brussels.Reporting by means of Philip Blenkinsop, Bart Meijer, Benoit van Overstraeten, Jan Strupczewski, Tassilo Hummel, Zhifan Liu, Marine Strauss, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Niklas Pollard, Anna Ringstrom;
Writing by means of Ingrid Melander and Jan Strupczewski
Enhancing by means of Gerry Doyle, Christina Fincher and Nick MacfieOur Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Consider Rules. Achieve Licensing Rights, opens new tab

Author: OpenAI