Belgium On 'Highest' Terror Alert After 2 Swedes Shot Dead In Brussels

Two Swedes were shot dead by a gunman in Brussels while a third was injured. The prosecutors are treating the act as terrorism.

Police cordon off the area and take security measures around the King Baudouin Stadium after a gunman killed at least two Swedish nationals in Brussels,

Source : Getty Images

Two Swedish nationals were shot dead in Belgium's capital city of Brussels prompting the authority to raise the terror alert to its top rating of 4 implying a "threat is extremely serious." A third person was injured in the attacks which the Belgian prosecutors are treating as terrorism. 

The Belgian prosecutors said that the suspected shooter has been arrested, as per AFP, whose attack prompted to abandon a football match between Belgium and Sweden while 35,000 fans were held inside for several hours as a precaution, as per an Associated Press report. 

Eric Van Duyse, spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office, said the investigation was centering on “a possible terrorist motivation for the shooting” after “a claim of responsibility was posted on social media.”

Duyse said that the elements of the act does not suggest any link to the Israeli-Palestinian situation. 

The attacker was "inspired by Islamic State" said Duyse, adding that the probable motive behind the attack could be Swedish nationality of the victims.  

In August this year, Sweden had raised its terror alert to the second-highest level after a series of public Quran-burning incidents by an Iraqi refugee living in Sweden resulted in threats from Islamic militant groups.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo confirmed that the victims were Swedish. "I have just offered my sincere condolences to the Swedish PM following tonight’s harrowing attack on Swedish citizens in Brussels," de Croo said on X.

"Our thoughts are with the families and friends who lost their loved ones. As close partners, the fight against terrorism is a joint one," he said.

As per a Reuters report, the suspected assailant released a social media video calling himself Abdesalem Al Guilani, "a fighter for Allah". 

As for the UEFA 2024 qualifying match between Belgium and Sweden, the Union of European Football Associations said that the match was abandoned. 

Van Duyse said, “security measures were urgently taken to protect the Swedish supporters” at the game in the national stadium not far from the schooting.