Bruno Fahy/AFP/Getty
Two people were killed Thursday in Verviers, Belgium, when police raided an apartment used by suspected terrorists. Two unidentified people were killed, a third injured, and 15 others detained. Police found four AK-47 assault rifles, explosives, and police uniforms inside the apartment. No police or members of the public were harmed. Separately, a Belgian arms dealer turned himself in on Thursday during a different raid in Charleroi, but police have made no connections to last week’s attacks in Paris that left 17 dead. Local media outlets reported the dealer was suspected of supplying the weapons used in a French supermarket siege, however, police are still investigating a possible connection. “For the moment, we certainly can’t confirm a link,” said Eric Van der Sypt, a spokesman for the office of the Belgian federal prosecutor.
The raids targeted “several people who we think are an operational cell—certain people who came back from Syria,” Van der Sypt said. Authorities declined to comment on the suspects’ activities in Syria, but noted that all were Belgian citizens.
The counterterrorism operation began two weeks ago, before the attacks on Paris, when police tapped the suspects’ homes and cars, according to RTBF. Authorities concluded that a major attack was on the horizon, and the target was believed to be police buildings, officials said. A judge granted about 10 search warrants to carry out the raids across Brussels. Anti-terror raids are expected to continue overnight in the capital and surrounding areas.