The prime minister broke off his vacation in the south of France and was returning to Belgium for an emergency meeting of the government’s National Security Council on Sunday. He said he had no information he could provide immediately on the identity or motivation of the attacker.
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Michel told RTL television he has asked the independent OCAM agency to immediately assess whether there is an increased threat to Belgian internal security. (God is great!) before pulling the machete out of a gym bag and coming at the officers near the Hotel de Charleroi.
Belgian Interior Minister Jean Jambon condemned the attack calling it “disgusting act in Charleroi” on his Twitter account.
According to Charleroi police, the attacker, who has not yet been identified, was shot by a third officer at the scene and has since died, the Guardian reported.
Police in Charleroi tweeted that the attacker shouted “Allahu Akhbar!”
They also said the officers are “out of danger”.
Belgium is still at security alert level three, the second highest level, since the March 22 bombings at a Brussels airport and a subway station which killed 32 people.
“Our thoughts go to the victims, their relatives and the police services”, he said. “We are following the situation closely”.
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A machete attack that injured two female police officers in the Belgian city of Charleroi Saturday appears to be an act of terrorism, officials said. Last week, Belgian police arrested and indicted a terrorist suspect who was alleged to have been plotting an attack in Belgium.
