This Thursday, Belgian authorities arrested a 14-year-old teenager suspected of wanting to commit a terrorist attack against a mosque in Brussels.
A 14-year-old teenager was arrested this Thursday, January 23 in Brussels, on suspicion of having planned an attack against a mosque. The prosecutor’s office in the Belgian capital specified in a press release that the suspect was planning “to commit an attack against a mosque this Friday, January 24, a day of prayer and crowds in mosques”, but he did not mention a location. particular.
Informed of the planned attack thanks to “declassified confidential information”, the prosecution indicated that it had ordered a search of the teenager’s home at dawn this Thursday. On site, “weapons and computer equipment” were seized. After the arrest, the prosecution requested the placement of the suspect in a “Public Youth Protection Institution (IPPJ) in a closed environment”. An investigation has been opened and the teenager is suspected of terrorist offences, in particular planning an assassination, the prosecution said.
The suspect close to the extreme right
The arrested teenager is “apparently of extreme right wing”, according to statements by the Minister of Justice, Paul Van Tigchelt, who announced the suspect’s arrest to Belgian deputies.
After the arrest of the 14-year-old teenager, the Brussels prosecutor’s office warned of the increase in the number of young people radicalized on the internet and in particular on social networks: “The process of radicalization of these young people is developing much more quickly than in the past”, remarked the Minister of Justice.
A trend confirmed by figures from the Belgian civil intelligence services, State Security, which indicates that between 2022 and 2024, “nearly a third” of people to have been involved in terrorism cases were aged under 18 years old. Still on the subject of the profiles of people suspected or listed for terrorism threats by Ocam, the Belgian agency responsible for assessing the terrorist threat, the authorities point out the “extremist” character of the individuals. While most seem to belong to the jihadist movement, the share of sympathizers with far-right movements is also significant.