Jihadi kills 2 women cops with their guns
»»Maniac stabbed pair and stole weapons »»Passer-by shot before gunman is killed
A TERROR suspect shot dead two female police officers after stabbing them and snatching their weapons.
A passenger in a parked car was also fatally wounded as he was blasted by the gunman, who shouted ”Allahu Akbar” during the attack in Liege, Belgium.
The suspected jihadi was named by local media as petty criminal Benjamin Herman, 36, who was reportedly on day release from prison.
Investigations are continuing into whether he was radicalised in jail.
Herman took a female school cleaner hostage after shooting the policewomen in the head. He was killed in a shootout with elite officers yesterday morning after children were rushed to safety.
Two police were shot in the leg, but the hostage escaped unharmed. Public prosecutor Philippe Dulieu confirmed the incident was a possible terror attack.
And police chief Christian Beaupere said: “The goal of the attacker was to target the police.”
The two police officers who died were named locally as Soraya Belkacemi – the mother of 13-year-old twins – and Lucile Garcia. The car passenger was identified by Belgian media as Cyril Vangriecken.
Theresa May denounced the “cowardly” attack in the industrial city near the German border.
She said on Twitter: “My thoughts are with the victims of today’s cowardly attack in Belgium and their grieving families. The UK stands resolute with our Belgian allies against terror.”
Local reports claimed Herman, a Belgian national, was heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” – Arabic for God is the Greatest – during the onslaught.
Herman had convictions for drug offences, but was not on a terror watchlist, according to reports last night.
He launched his attack a day after being released to visit his hometown of Rochefort, 40 miles from Liege.
He crept up on the two policewomen from behind, slashing them with a knife before taking their handguns.
In the aftermath, Belgium’s royal family said in a statement: “Our thoughts are with the victims of this horrible act.” King Philippe was expected to visit the scene along with Prime Minister Charles Michel, who offered condolences to the victims and their families.
Belgium’s Interior Minister Jan Jambon said investigators were trying to establish “exactly what happened”.
The national threat level remains at level two – indicating an average risk of a terror attack. Belgium has been on alert since jihadi attacks there and in France. A Brussels-based Islamic State cell was involved in attacks on Paris in 2015 that killed 130 people and on Brussels in 2016 in which 32 died.