Belgium : A suspected terrorist has been arrested in Belgium after he allegedly tried to drive a car into shoppers on a pedestrianised street – less than 24 hours after the attack in London.
The vehicle was reportedly full of liquid gas, knives and rifles.
Terrified pedestrians had to jump out of the way as the car entered the De Meir shopping street in Antwerp at high speed on Thursday morning.
The suspected driver, who was wearing camouflage, was later arrested by police, local media reported.
The incident was reportedly being investigated as a possible terrorist incident.
A federal prosecutor said the suspect is a French national who was living in France.
Local media said he was a 39-year-old named Mohamed R.
Police in the Belgian port city said the French-registered vehicle was spotted as it approached the busy Scheldt riverside.
Eyewitnesses said they saw many being forced to jump out of the way as the speed of the car increased.
Police reportedly stopped the car as it ran a red light and immediately set up a safety perimeter around it.
It was understood that soldiers on patrol searched the car and found weapons and other “illegal” materials.
The driver was said to be wearing a military-style uniform.
A police spokesman told reporters: “At about 11am this morning a vehicle entered De Meir at high speed due to which pedestrians had to jump away.
Additional police officers and military personnel were deployed in the Belgian city following the incident.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, who had earlier offered condolences to those affected by the London rampage, hailed police for thwarting the apparent attack and arresting the suspect.
He said: “We remain vigilant. Our security services have done excellent work.”
The incident occurred less than 24 hours after a terrorist killed three people before he was shot dead by police in central London.
The attacker ploughed into pedestrians on London’s Westminster Bridge and then fatally stabbed a police officer inside the gates at the Houses of Parliament.
The attacker was shot by police after he attacked PC Keith Palmer on Wednesday afternoon.
Thursday’s incident was almost a year to the day since ISIS suicide bombers murdered 32 people in attacks on Brussels’ airport and a metro station.
Source : Mirror UK
