Belgium Arrests 7 Suspected of Planning Terrorist Attack

Belgian police officers keep guard after an attack in which a police officer was killed, in Brussels, Belgium November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Clement Rossignol
Belgian police officers keep guard after an attack in which a police officer was killed, in Brussels, Belgium November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Clement Rossignol
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Belgium Arrests 7 Suspected of Planning Terrorist Attack

Belgian police officers keep guard after an attack in which a police officer was killed, in Brussels, Belgium November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Clement Rossignol
Belgian police officers keep guard after an attack in which a police officer was killed, in Brussels, Belgium November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Clement Rossignol

Belgian police have arrested seven people on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack, the prosecutor's office said on Thursday.

The suspects had discussed several scenarios for an attack in Belgium but had not yet decided on the target, the statement said as well.

"There was talk of the NATO buildings, but at the moment those plans didn't seem very concrete," a spokesperson told Belgian newspaper De Standaard.

The prosecutor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Almost all of the suspects are of Chechen origin while three are also Belgian nationals and belong to a group of fervent ISIS supporters, according to the prosecutor's statement.

An investigating judge will decide at a later stage if the suspects will be brought before the court.



Trump Says he Ordered Airstrikes on ISIS in Somalia

FILE PHOTO: A general view shows a section of the skyline of Mogadishu, Somalia November 28, 2022. REUTERS/Feisal Omar/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows a section of the skyline of Mogadishu, Somalia November 28, 2022. REUTERS/Feisal Omar/File Photo
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Trump Says he Ordered Airstrikes on ISIS in Somalia

FILE PHOTO: A general view shows a section of the skyline of Mogadishu, Somalia November 28, 2022. REUTERS/Feisal Omar/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows a section of the skyline of Mogadishu, Somalia November 28, 2022. REUTERS/Feisal Omar/File Photo

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he ordered military airstrikes on a senior ISIS attack planner and others from the organization in Somalia.

"These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians."

Saturday's strikes were carried out in the Golis Mountains, said Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who added that an initial assessment indicated multiple operatives were killed. He said no civilians were harmed.

Reuters could not independently verify those details.

Hegseth said the strikes degrade ISIS’ ability "to plot and conduct terrorist attacks" threatening the US, its partners and innocent civilians.

"(It) sends a clear signal that the United States always stands ready to find and eliminate terrorists who threaten the United States and our allies, even as we conduct robust border-protection and many other operations under President Trump’s leadership," he said in a statement.

The United States has periodically carried out airstrikes in Somalia for years, under Republican and Democratic administrations.

A strike, which also targeted ISIS militants, was carried out by the US in coordination with Somalia last year. It killed three members of the group, the US military said.