Just a week following a terror attack in Brussels, which claimed the lives of two Swedish nationals, details of a new foiled attack in the capital are now beginning to emerge.
Belgian and French authorities, in a series of operations conducted earlier this year, apprehended four teenagers in June and August, all between the ages of 15 and 16, under suspicion of plotting a terror attack on the Israeli embassy in the Brussels municipality of Uccle, La Libre Belgique reports. The plot reportedly preceded the latest Hamas-Israel war.
According to the French publication Le Parisien, three of the apprehended individuals, including two of Chechen descent, are now facing charges in Paris. The fourth, a resident of Brussels, has reportedly been in juvenile detention in Belgium since earlier this year.
Investigations into the group's activities show that the four youngsters had been radicalised. Evidence points to their commitment to jihadist ideology and how they used online video games and WhatsApp groups to facilitate their communications and share extremist content. The teens are also believed to have accessed information on fabricating explosives.
The suspects' alleged scheme involved not just a direct assault on the embassy, but also attacks against local police. They purportedly planned to initially target police officers guarding the facility, followed by an attack on the embassy using a van laden with explosives.
As quoted by Le Parisien, one message sent between the teens read: "Our goal is to terrorise the Jews." The teens said that they specifically wanted to target Israeli embassy workers. "Blood must be shed as much as possible," another message read.
Following the terrorist shooting that left two dead in Brussels last week, Belgium is at a heightened threat level for terrorism. Several false alarms have caused panic in recent days in the capital. Similarly, numerous bomb threats have disrupted air traffic and local schools.
