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World|life|January 16, 2015 / 09:54 AM
Belgian police kill 2 in anti-terror raid during shootout

AKIPRESS.COM - Police in Belgium killed two men and arrested another on Thursday night during a counter-terrorism raid against a group suspected of planning a “major” attack, the western media report Friday.

The suspects immediately opened fire on police when special forces closed in on them near the railway station in the eastern city of Verviers, near the border with Germany, Eric Van der Sypt, a federal magistrate said.

He said that there was “no link at this stage to the Paris attacks” last week which left 17 people dead.

“The investigation started a few weeks ago before the attacks in Paris, I would like to stress,” Mr Van der Sypt said. “They [the suspects] all have Belgian nationality.”

However, he added: “This operation stopped a major terrorist attack from taking place. You could say a second potential Paris has been averted."

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Last night, according to a report in the Belgian media, the suspects planned to abduct and behead a prominent law enforcement official and post a video on the internet, reports The Telegraph.

The successful operation will raise questions in France about why the authorities were unable to take similar action to prevent the attacks.

The third man was shot in the abdomen and seriously injured.

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The suspects were known jihadists who had returned from Syria in the last month. The Belgian secret service believed they were about to carry out an attack on a police station and called in special forces.

Belgium is now on a high level of terror alert for all police forces with heightened warning for Brussels and Antwerp.

Police carried out searches in more than 10 properties in Brussels, Verviers and Halle-Vilvoorde as part of an investigation into extremists returning from Syria, authorities said.

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