Michel said the prosecutors were treating the attack on the officers as a case of “attempted terrorist murder”.
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Islamic State claims responsibility for machete attack in Belgium was posted in World of TheNews International – https://www.thenews.com.pk on August 07, 2016 and was last updated on August 07, 2016.
A statement by the Islamic State-affiliated Aamaq news agency, posted on Sunday on an Isis-linked Twitter account, said the attack on the officers was in response to the “crusader coalition’s” military campaign against Islamic State and its self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
Belgian prosecutors identified the assailant as a 33-year-old Algerian known to police for criminal offences, but not for extremism.
Prime Minister Charles Michel said the attacker’s shouts of “Allahu akbar!” as he slashed at the officers outside the Charleroi police station on Saturday were a notable factor in the authorities’ decision. Two homes were also searched in connection with the investigation, the prosecutor said, without disclosing additional information.
The man was fatally shot by police Saturday afternoon after attacking and wounding two policewomen outside the main police station in Charleroi, a city in French-speaking southern Belgium.
The assault at a security checkpoint outside of a police precinct left the two officers “severely injured” in the face and neck, according to the Belgian prosecutor.
Michel spoke to reporters following an emergency meeting with top Belgian law enforcement officials.
Belgium has been on high alert since suicide bombers struck Brussels airport and a metro station near the European Union headquarters on March 22, killing 32 people.
Belgian police have undertaken waves of anti-terrorist raids over recent months going back to last November’s deadly attacks in Paris which were found to have been prepared on Belgian soil and perpetrated, among others, by Belgian-based jihadis.
“We know we must be constantly, constantly vigilant”, Michel said.
Belgians were keeping “cool heads”, added the premier, who said measures would be taken to bolster security for police.
Local police said the two injured policewomen were out of danger, though both were placed in an induced coma.
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Maamoun Youssef reported from Cairo.
