Paris attacks: Ninth terror suspect arrested in Belgium
Belgium has emerged as a nexus in the investigation into the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris. Its peculiar governance structure has been cited as a reason why some Islamist militants gravitate there.聽
Belgium has emerged as a nexus in the investigation into the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris. Its peculiar governance structure has been cited as a reason why some Islamist militants gravitate there.聽
Belgian officials today announced charges against a ninth person in connection with the Nov. 13 attacks that left 130 dead in Paris, highlighting the peculiarly Belgian dimension to Europe's struggle with Islamist extremism. 聽
The detainee, a 30-year-old Belgian national identified only as Abdoullah C, is being charged with 鈥渢errorist murders and participation in the activities of a terrorist organisation,鈥� reports Agence France-Presse. He was arrested in Brussels on Tuesday. Prosecutors allege he had multiple contacts with Hasna Aitboulahcen, the cousin of ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud, several times between the attacks and a subsequent police raid in Saint-Denis, France, during which both Aitboulahcen and Abaaoud died.聽
Abdoullah C is only the latest connection in the investigation to Belgium, which appears to be both a key planning ground for the attack and home to several of the terrorists. Of the eight men who died while carrying out the Paris attacks, at least three either were Belgian citizens or had lived there. And a possible ninth attacker still at large, Salah Abdeslam is also a Belgian citizen, reports Reuters.
Belgium's terrorist connections are not exclusive to the Paris attacks. In recent years, particularly as the so-called Islamic State's conflict in Syria and Iraq has drawn would-be jihadis from Europe, Belgium has reported the highest number of citizens per capita joining the terrorist group.
海角大神's Sara Miller Llana reported earlier this month that Belgium's radicalization problem is not just another case of an alienated Muslim population in Europe. Many of the issues that make Belgium 鈥� and its capital, Brussels, in particular 鈥� a fertile ground for radicalization have to do with its particular political history and decentralized, many-layered system of governance.聽
Furthermore, as a meeting point for Europe and with a long history as an arms manufacturer, Belgium is a hot spot for the trade of weapons and other tools useful to terrorists.