Suspect killed after explosion in Belgium
Soldiers neutralize man after incident at busy train station near Brussels’ Grand Place
BRUSSELS— Belgian authorities said they foiled a “terror attack” Tuesday when soldiers shot and killed a suspect after a small explosion at a busy Brussels train station.
Federal prosecutor Eric Van der Sypt said soldiers “neutralized” a male suspect at the Central Station immediately after the explosion there on Tuesday night. The man lay still for several hours while a bomb squad checked whether he was armed with more explosives.
Prosecutor’s spokesperson Ine Van Wymersch confirmed his death early Wednesday and said no other ex- plosives were found on his body. Belgian media had reported earlier that he was wearing a bomb belt.
Belgium’s Crisis Centre, which monitors security threats in the country, said based on initial information it did not see a need to raise the country’s terror threat to the highest level and kept it at the second-highest level.
Authorities set up a wide perimeter around the station, located near the city’s famed Grand Place square.
Van der Sypt said no one else was injured besides the suspect and the damage from the explosion was limited. The attack, which took place during a rare heat wave in Belgium, came at about 8.30 p.m., well after the rush hour had dissipated.
Nicolas Van Herreweghen, who works for Belgium’s national rail company, said the male suspect was very agitated, yelling about jihadists and then “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” before blowing up something on a baggage trolley. He said the man appeared to be 30 to 35 years of age.
The government agency that owns Belgium’s railways was warned by a train driver who saw people running across the rail lines inside the station, spokesperson Arnaud Reymann told broadcaster RTL.
The Central Station is one of the busiest in the nation and soldiers could be seen patrolling there after the explosion. It was evacuated along with the Belgian capital’s Grand Place, a major tourist site about 200 metres away.
Belgium has been on high alert since suicide bombers killed 32 people on the Brussels subway and at an airport in March 2016.