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| Belgium Says Algerian Killed in Raid May Have Had Links to Radical Islam | Belgium Says Algerian Killed in Raid May Have Had Links to Radical Islam |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| PARIS — The man who was killed during a counterterrorism raid was an Algerian with potential links to radical Islam, Belgian prosecutors said on Wednesday. Two other suspects from Tuesday’s raid, which left four police officers wounded, remain on the run, the prosecutors said. | |
| The man, Mohamed Belkaid, a 35-year-old who was in Belgium illegally, tried to open fire on police officers and was shot and killed by a special-forces sniper, according to Eric van der Sijpt, a spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office. | The man, Mohamed Belkaid, a 35-year-old who was in Belgium illegally, tried to open fire on police officers and was shot and killed by a special-forces sniper, according to Eric van der Sijpt, a spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office. |
| The raid took place around 2:15 p.m. Tuesday at a building on the Rue du Dries in the Forest section of Brussels. Six police officers — four Belgian and two French — went to the building as part of the investigation into the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris and in St.-Denis, France. | |
| “From the moment the door of the flat was opened, at least two persons, armed with a riot gun and a Kalashnikov, opened fire toward them,” Mr. van der Sijpt said. “In the short but very intense shootout, three of the six officers suffered slight injuries, among them a French female police officer.” | “From the moment the door of the flat was opened, at least two persons, armed with a riot gun and a Kalashnikov, opened fire toward them,” Mr. van der Sijpt said. “In the short but very intense shootout, three of the six officers suffered slight injuries, among them a French female police officer.” |
| He added, “The police officers present at the scene returned fire immediately and were able to retreat safely.” | He added, “The police officers present at the scene returned fire immediately and were able to retreat safely.” |
| A fourth officer sustained a head wound during subsequent gunfire between the police and the suspects, Mr. van der Sijpt said. | A fourth officer sustained a head wound during subsequent gunfire between the police and the suspects, Mr. van der Sijpt said. |
| Mr. Belkaid was killed during the shooting. In the apartment where he died, the police found a flag of the Islamic State, 11 cartridge clips and numerous shell casings, Mr. van der Sijpt said; near his body, they found a book on the Salafist school of Islam and a Kalashnikov rifle. | Mr. Belkaid was killed during the shooting. In the apartment where he died, the police found a flag of the Islamic State, 11 cartridge clips and numerous shell casings, Mr. van der Sijpt said; near his body, they found a book on the Salafist school of Islam and a Kalashnikov rifle. |
| Mr. Belkaid was not previously known to the police, except for one case of theft in 2014. It was unclear whether he had any connection to the Nov. 13 attacks, which killed 130 people. | Mr. Belkaid was not previously known to the police, except for one case of theft in 2014. It was unclear whether he had any connection to the Nov. 13 attacks, which killed 130 people. |
| The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that two men who were arrested after the raid had been released without charges. | The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that two men who were arrested after the raid had been released without charges. |
| One of them had been taken to a hospital in Halle, about eight miles southwest of Forest, on Tuesday evening, by a man who then fled when the police arrived. The other was arrested after an overnight search in a house in Forest. | |
| More houses in Forest were searched on Tuesday, Mr. van der Sijpt said. Two full Kalashnikov cartridge clips and an article of black clothing were found near a house on the Rue de l’Eau, and a Kalashnikov rifle was found inside. | More houses in Forest were searched on Tuesday, Mr. van der Sijpt said. Two full Kalashnikov cartridge clips and an article of black clothing were found near a house on the Rue de l’Eau, and a Kalashnikov rifle was found inside. |
| Searches in two more houses on the Rue de l’Eau, in about 30 enclosed parking spaces and in a storage facility did not yield any results, Mr. van der Sijpt said. Neither did a house search in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, southwest of Brussels, the prosecutor’s office said. | Searches in two more houses on the Rue de l’Eau, in about 30 enclosed parking spaces and in a storage facility did not yield any results, Mr. van der Sijpt said. Neither did a house search in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, southwest of Brussels, the prosecutor’s office said. |
| After a national security meeting on Wednesday, Prime Minister Charles Michel of Belgium announced that the country’s terrorism alert would remain at its second-highest level. | After a national security meeting on Wednesday, Prime Minister Charles Michel of Belgium announced that the country’s terrorism alert would remain at its second-highest level. |
| Earlier on Wednesday, Mr. Michel told RTL radio that the police had not expected an “armed, violent reaction” to the raid on Tuesday. | Earlier on Wednesday, Mr. Michel told RTL radio that the police had not expected an “armed, violent reaction” to the raid on Tuesday. |
| “I think that there was a surprise, because according to the federal prosecutor’s office, there was no need to mobilize the special forces for this raid,” Mr. Michel said, “which shows that we were not expecting to find resistance, and certainly not resistance of that nature.” | “I think that there was a surprise, because according to the federal prosecutor’s office, there was no need to mobilize the special forces for this raid,” Mr. Michel said, “which shows that we were not expecting to find resistance, and certainly not resistance of that nature.” |
| The Belgian authorities have conducted more than 100 home searches and arrested 58 people in connection with the November attacks, Mr. van der Sijpt said, adding that 23 people had been arrested in connection with related investigations. | |
| The French and Belgian authorities have detained nearly a dozen men suspected of helping the Paris attackers either before or after the Nov. 13 assaults, but are still seeking others. | The French and Belgian authorities have detained nearly a dozen men suspected of helping the Paris attackers either before or after the Nov. 13 assaults, but are still seeking others. |
| The chief fugitive is Salah Abdeslam, a 26-year-old French citizen who is believed to have participated in the Paris attacks. Mr. Abdeslam, who was born in Brussels to parents who had emigrated from Morocco, fled to Belgium immediately after the attacks. | The chief fugitive is Salah Abdeslam, a 26-year-old French citizen who is believed to have participated in the Paris attacks. Mr. Abdeslam, who was born in Brussels to parents who had emigrated from Morocco, fled to Belgium immediately after the attacks. |