What we know about Isis Brussels terror suspect Abdesalem Lassoued
Belgian Police seize Tunisian illegal immigrant as Belgium v Sweden football match abandoned
A terror suspectin Brussels has died after being shot by police in a cafe on Tuesday.
The 45-year-old Tunisian man, identified as Abdesalem Lassoued, was shot in the chest and died in hospital from his wounds, local media said.
Two Swedish nationals were killed in Brussels after a gunman opened fire in the city centre on Monday night ahead of a qualifier game for the UEFA Euros between Sweden and Belgium at the Heysel Stadium, some three miles away. The second half of the match was later called off.
Footage shared online showed a man dressed in an orange jacket unloading several shots, using a large weapon. The bearded man was reportedly seen leaving the crime scene on a scooter.
After the shooting Abdesalem Lassoued posted a video on Facebook about the killings, claiming he was a member of Islamic State (IS) and had killed “three Swedes so far”.
Authorities searched for the man overnight, before finding him inside a café in the Brussels neighbourhood of Schaerbeek at 8am and ‘opened fire’.
Here’s everything we know about the terror suspect:
Who is the terror suspect?
The gunman was named on Monday night by local media as 45-year-old Abdesalem Lassoued from Tunisia.
He was reportedly a failed asylum seeker living illegally in the Schaerbeek area of Brussels, which is about a ten-minute drive from the scene of the shooting.
Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborn said Lassoued was convicted in Tunisia ‘for common law offences’, but was not reported for a terrorist risk.
Why did he carry out the attack?
After the shooting, Lassoued posted a video to Facebook, using the name Slayem Slouma, speaking in Arabic: “Islamic greeting Allahu Akbar. My name is Abdesalem Al Guilani and I am a fighter for Allah. I am from the Islamic State. We love who loves us and we hate who hates us. We live for our religion and we die for our religion.”
He added that he had “killed three Swedes so far” and also claimed he had carried out the attack in “revenge in the name of Muslims”.
A Belgian federal prosecutor said there was no evidence that the attacker had any link to the renewed conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants.
What happened after the shooting?
Police in Belgium searched overnight to find the suspect who opened fire in the Brussels city centre. Footage shared online showed a man dressed in an orange jacket unloading several shots using a large weapon, before leaving the crime scene on a scooter.
Police raided a building in the Brussels neighborhood of Schaerbeek overnight where the man was thought to be staying but did not find him.
Authorities eventually found a suspect inside a café in the Brussels neighbourhood of Schaerbeek at 8am. He was shot in the chest before dying in hospital from his wounds, local media reported.
Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden posted on X: “The perpetrator of the terrorist attack in Brussels has been identified and died.”
The European Commission, which is based in Brussels, has urged staff to work from home and some schools were closed in the wake of the attack.
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