Iran responsible for antisemitic terror attacks in Liège, Antwerp earlier this year - report
The Belgian Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (CUTA) currently lists the threat level in Belgium as "very serious."
Two separate terrorist attacks targeting Jewish individuals and properties occurred in the Belgian cities of Liège and Antwerp earlier this year, according to a report by KAN News. The Belgian Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (CUTA) Director Gert Vercauteren stated that the Islamic regime in Iran was directly responsible for these attacks, as the terrorists acted on instructions from Tehran to target Jewish individuals worldwide.
The attacks included an arson incident in Antwerp and an explosion at a synagogue in Liège, both of which took place in March.
The Islamist group Ashab al-Yamin claimed responsibility for the Antwerp attack, releasing a video that showed three masked individuals setting a vehicle on fire. Despite the attackers' belief that the vehicle's owner was haredi (ultra-Orthodox), it was later determined that the vehicle's owner was not Jewish. Two minors were arrested in connection with the Antwerp attack.
According to Vercauteren, both attacks were part of a coordinated campaign, including an additional attempted attack on a Dutch synagogue, which was thwarted by Belgian intelligence agencies. The Belgian threat level, as reported by CUTA, is currently classified as "very serious" primarily due to the geopolitical context, particularly the ongoing war in Iran.
Vercauteren attributed the high threat level to the geopolitical context, particularly the war in Iran. He further stated that the main threat in Belgium continued to come from the Islamist jihadist movement, although this share had decreased. The threat level was also attributed to rising extremism in the United States, which Vercauteren described as a "dystopian vision."
In conclusion, Vercauteren emphasized that addressing extremism requires a societal approach, involving security, prevention, and reintegration efforts. He stressed that security services alone cannot solve the issues of extremism, as they are a societal problem that demands collaboration among various sectors.
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