This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/prosecutors-shots-fired-during-anti-terror-raid-in-brussels/2016/03/15/9b80c092-eab9-11e5-a9ce-681055c7a05f_story.html

The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 6 Version 7
Police: 1 man found dead after raid linked to Paris attacks Belgian police kill 1 man in raid linked to Paris attacks
(about 2 hours later)
BRUSSELS — Police found a man dead when they stormed a house in Brussels at the end of a major anti-terror operation Tuesday, several hours after they were shot at during a raid linked to last year’s attacks in Paris, a prosecutor said. BRUSSELS — Belgian and French police investigating a suspected link with the November attacks in Paris stormed a Brussels house Tuesday after being fired upon, and killed a suspect armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, authorities said.
It was not clear whether the dead man was one of the suspects sought in the raid earlier Tuesday in the Forest neighborhood of Brussels, the Belgian capital where several of the Paris attackers lived. Four police officers from the French-Belgian operation were injured when at least one suspect opened fire through the door, apparently with an assault weapon, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said. Three Belgian and one French police officer were slightly wounded in the operation.
Forest mayor Marc-Jean Ghyssels told local media two people had barricaded themselves in a home during the raid, but it was not clear what happened to them. “We had a lot of luck,” Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said. “It could have been a drama.”
The prosecutor, who asked not to be identified because the operation was not finished, said it was not clear if suspects from the raid were on the run. He said many people fled the area when they heard gunfire, and it was too early to say if some were suspects or all were just people trying to escape. One police officer was wounded on his ear right under his helmet, and another was injured when his service weapon was struck by a bullet.
The anti-terror raid in the Forest neighborhood was linked to the Nov. 13 gun and bomb attacks on a stadium, cafes and a concert hall in Paris that left 130 people dead. Yet police didn’t expect violent resistance on Tuesday, the prosecutor said. That indicated they were not targeting a major suspect like Salah Abdeslam, who fled Paris and remains on the run. Most of the attackers died that night, including Abdeslam’s brother Brahim, who blew himself up. The major anti-terror operation, which lasted more than three hours, paralyzed an entire neighborhood of the Belgian capital, with schools and a day care center placed on lockdown and autoworkers at a nearby Audi plant instructed not to leave by management.
Four months on, Belgian police and magistrates are still piecing together the role Belgian nationals and others living here played in aiding the Paris attackers. The operation brought back memories of the anxious days the Belgian capital lived through in November and December, when the subway and schools were closed for a time, and the New Year’s Eve fireworks display was cancelled because of the threat of extremist violence.
The suspected ringleader of the attacks was a Brussels resident, Abdelhamid Abaaoud. Another attacker, Bilal Hadfi, was said to have lived for a time in the Forest neighborhood. Hadfi blew himself up outside a stadium in Paris the night of the attacks and Abaaoud was killed in a police raid in a Paris suburb soon after. Since it was unclear whether other extremist suspects remained at large late Tuesday, police operations were continuing.
On Tuesday, the Forest neighborhood was locked down for five hours after the initial burst of gunfire. “The investigation is actively proceeding night and day,” the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement. It said additional details of the Franco-Belgian operation would be made public at a news conference Wednesday morning. It said efforts were still underway to identify the slain suspect.
Police sealed off a wide perimeter around the area where the shots were heard to keep the many bystanders at a safe distance. A helicopter was hovering overhead to patrol the area as police were still looking for at least one suspect. Several hundred spectators were trying to get a closer look at the operation in the multicultural neighborhood, which has a big Audi car factory nearby. Audi asked its personnel to stay at the plant while the police raid was going on. Prosecutor Eric Van der Sypt said when gunshots rang out that many people fled, and it was too early to say if some were suspects or all were innocent bystanders simply trying to escape.
Several hooded officers wearing body armor milled around the neighborhood and ambulances were on standby. The anti-terror raid in the Forest neighborhood was linked to the Nov. 13 gun and suicide bombing attacks on a stadium, cafes and a concert hall in Paris that left 130 people dead. Yet police didn’t expect violent resistance Tuesday, the prosecutor said. That indicated they weren’t targeting a major suspect like Salah Abdeslam, who fled Paris and remains on the run. Most of the Paris attackers died that night, including Abdeslam’s brother Brahim, who blew himself up.
Belgian authorities have stepped up their counterterror efforts since a lone gunman killed four people at the Brussels Jewish museum in May 2014. The small western European country has also been prime recruiting ground for the Islamic State group, and officials freely acknowledge their concerns about what radicalized recruits might do after returning home from the battlefields of Syria or Iraq. More than four months on, Belgian police and magistrates are still piecing together the role Belgian nationals and others living in this country played in aiding the Paris attackers.
Tuesday’s raid was a reminder of the anxious days the Belgian capital lived through in November and December, when the subway and schools were closed for a time, and the New Year’s Eve fireworks display was cancelled because of the threat of extremist violence. The suspected ringleader of the November bloodbath was a Brussels resident, Abdelhamid Abaaoud. Another attacker, Bilal Hadfi, was said to have lived for a time in the Forest neighborhood. Hadfi blew himself up outside a stadium in the northern Paris suburbs and Abaaoud was killed in a police raid on a nearby house days later.
On Tuesday, the Forest neighborhood was locked down for five hours after the initial burst of gunfire. Three of the police officers, including a French police woman, were wounded when they were fired upon after opening the door of the apartment in the Rue du Dries they had come to search. The fourth officer was wounded in a later exchange of gunfire.
After the first gunshots, police sealed off a wide perimeter around the multicultural neighborhood to keep journalists and curious residents at a safe distance. A helicopter hovered overhead as officers looked for at least one other suspect they believed might have escaped. Several hundred spectators gathered, hooded officers wearing body armor milled about and ambulances stood at the ready.
Belgian authorities have stepped up their counterterror efforts since a lone gunman killed four people at the Brussels Jewish museum in May 2014. The small western European country has also been prime recruiting ground for the Islamic State extremist group, and officials freely acknowledge their concerns about what radicalized recruits might do after returning home from the battlefields of Syria or Iraq.
______
Associated Press Writer John-Thor Dahlburg contributed to this report. Associated Press Writer Lorne Cook contributed to this report.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.