Terrorist Attack in Brussels: Two Football Fans from Sweden were Killed

EU | October 17, 2023, Tuesday // 09:22|  views

Two Swedish citizens have died in a shooting in the infamous Molenbeek district of Brussels. The most likely version is a terrorist attack, the killer escaped. The highest level of alert - level 4 - has been declared in the Belgian capital.

According to the police, the shooting happened around 7:15 p.m. local time, shortly before the start of the match between the Swedish and Belgian national teams at the King Baudouin stadium, located about 5 km from the scene of the incident.

The victims are Swedish and were wearing their soccer team jerseys. The game, a European football qualifier, was later suspended by UEFA.

Photos taken by residents near the scene of the attack show a gunman in an orange jacket and white helmet getting off a scooter and firing several shots into the street.

Several people hid in the entrance of a nearby building, and the attacker followed them, shot several times at a person who was on the ground, who turned out to be one of the victims.

According to initial information, the man shouted "Allahu Akbar", according to local media.

In several videos on social networks, the suspect declares himself a jihadist and a member of the Islamic State. In the latest video posted, he explains that he took revenge because of Muslims around the world.

"We live for our religion and we will die for it, Allah is great. Your brother Abdessalam avenged the Muslims, I killed three Swedes at once," he says in the video.

So far, two deaths have been confirmed.

Alert level 3 has been declared in Belgium.

Prime Minister Alexander de Croo announced the case as a "vile attack against Swedish citizens" and expressed his condolences to his colleague Ulf Kristersson.

"Molenbeek" has the bad reputation of a district stronghold of jihadists. The terrorists who bloodied Paris in November 2015 also grew up there.

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Tags: Swedish, Brussels, attack, Molenbeek

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