Belgian police early Tuesday hunted for a gunman with suspected terrorist motives who killed two Swedes with stunning viciousness before disappearing into the night. He created such fear that authorities shut down a Belgium-Sweden soccer match and held 35,000 fans inside for several hours as a precaution.
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Eric Van Duyse, spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office, said the investigation was centering on “a possible terrorist motivation for the shooting” after “a claim of responsibility was posted on social media.”
“This person claims to be inspired by Islamic State,” Van Duyse said. “The Swedish nationality of the victims was put forward as the probable motive.” 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.
“At this time, no element indicates a possible link with the Israeli-Palestinian situation,” Van Duyse said, offering scant relief on a continent where many nations have increased their vigilance for fear of attacks linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
In Belgium, the anti-terror center said the terror alert in the capital was raised to its top rating of 4, meaning a “threat is extremely serious.” It previously stood at 2, which means the threat was average. The alert level or the rest of the country was raised to 2.
“I have just offered my sincere condolences to @SwedishPM following tonight’s harrowing attack on Swedish citizens in Brussels,” Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said. He added on X, formerly known as Twitter, “As close partners the fight against terrorism is a joint one.”
Belgium sends its sincere condolences to the people of Sweden.
This terrorist attack shakes the foundations of our…
