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Belgium Identifies Pair Suspected of Terrorist Plot and Killed in Police Raid Belgium Offers Partial IDs of 2 Killed in Police Raid
(about 3 hours later)
BRUSSELS — The Belgian authorities on Wednesday partially identified two men believed to be Islamic militants who died last week in a police raid, releasing the first names and nationalities — one Belgian, one Belgian-Moroccan — of the pair, who were suspected of belonging to a terrorist network and plotting an imminent attack. BRUSSELS — The Belgian authorities on Wednesday partly identified two men believed to be Islamic militants who died last week in a police raid, releasing the first names and nationalities — one Belgian, one Belgian-Moroccan — of the pair, who were suspected of belonging to a terrorist network and plotting an imminent attack.
The partial lifting of the secrecy that has surrounded the men’s identities came after a court in Brussels prolonged the detention of several other suspects arrested in connection with what prosecutors say was a foiled plot, which put the country on high alert. On Saturday, the government deployed troops to guard possible targets in Brussels and Antwerp. The partial lifting of the secrecy that has surrounded the men’s identities came after a court in Brussels prolonged the detention of other suspects arrested in connection with what prosecutors called a foiled plot, which put the country on high alert. On Saturday, the government deployed troops to possible targets in Brussels and Antwerp.
The identities of the pair, who died in a shootout last Thursday in Verviers, an eastern town about 75 miles from Brussels, have been a source of intense speculation and contradictory reports in the Belgian media.The identities of the pair, who died in a shootout last Thursday in Verviers, an eastern town about 75 miles from Brussels, have been a source of intense speculation and contradictory reports in the Belgian media.
The confusion raised questions about whether the police might have killed people they had not expected to find in the raided house and whether the suspected plot had strictly local roots or involved an international operation. The confusion raised questions about whether the police might have killed people they had not expected to find in the raided house and whether the suspected plot had strictly local roots or international influences.
In a statement issued late Wednesday, the Belgian federal prosecutor made a partial identification of the dead suspects but declined to disclose their full names, describing them only as Sofiane A., a Belgian and Moroccan citizen born in 1988, and Khalid B., a Belgian citizen born in 1991. In a statement, the Belgian federal prosecutor described the dead suspects as Sofiane A., a Belgian and Moroccan citizen born in 1988, and Khalid B., a Belgian citizen born in 1991.
“The federal prosecution office would like to stress the fact that we could not confirm the identities of the suspects earlier in the absolute interest of the ongoing investigation,” an English version of the statement released by the prosecutor said. “The federal prosecution office would like to stress the fact that we could not confirm the identities of the suspects earlier in the absolute interest of the ongoing investigation,” an English version of the statement said.
Earlier on Wednesday, a court in Brussels ordered that the three men arrested last week be held for one month because of possible links to the two suspects killed in Verviers. The three, including a man who was in the house raided in Verviers, were charged with participation in the activities of a terrorist group and violation of a law on weapons, according to the statement. Earlier on Wednesday, a court in Brussels ordered that three men arrested last week be held for one month because of possible links to the two suspects killed in Verviers. The three, including a man who was in the house raided in Verviers, were charged with participation in the activities of a terrorist group and violation of a law on weapons, according to the statement.
That decision was handed down behind closed doors at the Palais de Justice in a hearing protected by two sets of police checkpoints. Heavily armed paratroopers patrolled outside. The courthouse, along with embassies, Jewish sites and other potential targets, has been under military guard since Saturday.That decision was handed down behind closed doors at the Palais de Justice in a hearing protected by two sets of police checkpoints. Heavily armed paratroopers patrolled outside. The courthouse, along with embassies, Jewish sites and other potential targets, has been under military guard since Saturday.
The stepped-up security measures followed a decision last week to raise Belgium’s terrorism alert from two to three on a scale of four because of concerns raised by the suspected plot based in Verviers and the deaths of 17 people in attacks in Paris two week ago. Those security measures followed a decision last week to raise Belgium’s terrorism alert to 3 from 2 on a scale of 1-4 because of concerns raised by the suspected plot based in Verviers and the 17 deaths in attacks in Paris this month.
Belgian officials say they have found no link between a three-day rampage in Paris by three Frenchmen connected to jihadist groups and the attack they say was being planned in Verviers.Belgian officials say they have found no link between a three-day rampage in Paris by three Frenchmen connected to jihadist groups and the attack they say was being planned in Verviers.
Michael G. Vickers, the Pentagon’s top intelligence policy official, said that the attacks in Paris and the suspected plots in Belgium reflected a growing aim of the followers of disparate Islamic extremist groups to carry out strikes in Europe and the United States. Michael G. Vickers, the Pentagon’s top intelligence policy official, said the attacks in Paris and the suspected plots in Belgium reflected a growing aim of the followers of disparate jihadist groups to carry out strikes in Europe and the United States.
“Attacks on the West, in particular, are high on their list and increasing in priority,” said Mr. Vickers, the under secretary of defense for intelligence.“Attacks on the West, in particular, are high on their list and increasing in priority,” said Mr. Vickers, the under secretary of defense for intelligence.
A senior American intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing, said the Belgian suspects may already have identified targets when the authorities intervened. A senior American intelligence official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing, said the Belgian suspects might have already identified targets when the authorities intervened.
The official said that intelligence and police officials in Europe and the United States were struggling to piece together details of the terrorist cells and their plans, but that attacks may have been only days away. The official said that intelligence and police officials in Europe and the United States were struggling to piece together details of the terrorist cells and their plans, but that attacks might have been only days away.
Marouane El Bali, 25, one of the three men in court on Wednesday, was in Verviers at the time of the police raid but jumped out a window of the house. He has denied any involvement with terrorism, and he wept in court on Wednesday, according to one of his lawyers, Abdelhadi Amrani.Marouane El Bali, 25, one of the three men in court on Wednesday, was in Verviers at the time of the police raid but jumped out a window of the house. He has denied any involvement with terrorism, and he wept in court on Wednesday, according to one of his lawyers, Abdelhadi Amrani.
“He cried throughout the hearing,” Mr. Amrani said. “He has no understanding of what happened to him.” Mr. Amrani added that his client had no knowledge that others in the house were planning an attack.“He cried throughout the hearing,” Mr. Amrani said. “He has no understanding of what happened to him.” Mr. Amrani added that his client had no knowledge that others in the house were planning an attack.
In addition to the weapons and terrorism-related accusations, Mr. El Bali was charged “with armed rebellion, in group, with premeditation,” according to the statement by the office of the federal prosecutor. In addition to the weapons and terrorism-related accusations, Mr. El Bali was charged “with armed rebellion, in group, with premeditation,” the statement by the prosecutor’s office said.
Mr. Amrani said Mr. El Bali, who is from the Molenbeek district of Brussels, was in Verviers to visit a friend but may also have been there to deliver drugs, and perhaps shoes, to the house where the two suspects were killed by the police. Mr. Amrani said Mr. El Bali, who is from the Molenbeek district of Brussels, was in Verviers to visit a friend but might also have been there to deliver drugs, and perhaps shoes, to the house where the two suspects were killed by the police.
One of the other men in court also lived in Molenbeek, a heavily immigrant district of the capital that is separated from a comparatively upmarket area by a narrow canal.One of the other men in court also lived in Molenbeek, a heavily immigrant district of the capital that is separated from a comparatively upmarket area by a narrow canal.
The apparent concentration of suspects from Molenbeek has raised questions about whether the men became radicalized by influences in their neighborhood or had come under the sway of broader international terrorist networks.The apparent concentration of suspects from Molenbeek has raised questions about whether the men became radicalized by influences in their neighborhood or had come under the sway of broader international terrorist networks.
Belgian prosecutors have said that the suspects killed in Verviers opened fire with automatic weapons before the police entered the building and that a lengthy gunfight ensued.Belgian prosecutors have said that the suspects killed in Verviers opened fire with automatic weapons before the police entered the building and that a lengthy gunfight ensued.
Officials presented the raid as the culmination of a meticulously planned operation that followed weeks of surveillance on suspected militants. But Mr. Amrani, the lawyer, said the authorities may have known the identities of the suspects only after their deaths. Officials presented the raid as the culmination of a meticulously planned operation that followed weeks of surveillance on suspected militants. But Mr. Amrani, the lawyer, said the authorities might have known the identities of the suspects only after their deaths.
Didier De Quévy, another lawyer for Mr. El Bali, said the raids and the deadly showdown in Verviers had been necessary, but may have taken place sooner than the authorities had planned because of the heightened fear of attacks after the carnage in France. Didier De Quévy, another lawyer for Mr. El Bali, said the raids and the deadly showdown in Verviers had been necessary, but might have taken place sooner than the authorities had planned because of heightened fear after the carnage in France.
“This was a long-running investigation into a cell, a terrorist nucleus,” Mr. De Quévy said. “To avoid the things that happened in Paris, they intervened more quickly.”“This was a long-running investigation into a cell, a terrorist nucleus,” Mr. De Quévy said. “To avoid the things that happened in Paris, they intervened more quickly.”
That was probably “a good thing,” he said.That was probably “a good thing,” he said.