A 14-years-old Muslim teenager with a backpack full of explosives has been arrested by Belgian police near a train station in Brussels.
Belgian police officers in Brussels (Photo: Reuters)
Belgian police arrested a 14-years-old Muslim teenager with a backpack full of explosives near a train station in Brussels. A bottle with the words “Allahu Akbar,” written on it, was also found in his possession.
Police officers were investigating smoke, emanating from a construction site in the Molenbeek region of Brussels, which is considered a top jihadist hotbed in Europe. According to the De Telegraaf newspaper, during the investigation, four youths were detained at the scene, and the main culprit remains in custody.
After an investigation of a computer of the detained teenager, it became known he had been researching how to make explosives. During a raid on his home, police also found bomb-making equipment. The arrested teenager explained his search history and cache of incendiary materials with his love of “video games and chemistry.”
“The profile of the 14-year-old is worrisome and that is why the prosecutor’s office has asked for his placement,” Brussels public prosecutor Ine Van Wymersch said. “A placement for possession of explosive substances was requested, in a context where this young person seems to be disturbed by his video games.”
Terrorist attacks have become commonplace in Brussels, and Molenbeek, the so-called Muslim “no-go zone,” is at the center of the problem. In March of this year, Belgian police raided a Molenbeek residence and arrested one of the main killers in the 2015 Bataclan Theater massacre, Saleh Abdeslam. In retaliation, law enforcement was attacked by his Islamist supporters and co-conspirators, and riots erupted in the area. As it was reported, the entire neighborhood knew that they were sheltering the mass-murderer, and they did so willingly. Reportedly, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who is believed to be the ‘mastermind’ of the attack, was also from Molenbeek.
Several days later, a coordinated triple bombing, carried out by members of the same terrorist cell, which was responsible for the Bataclan slaughter and linked with the Islamic State (IS) group, rocked Brussels.