Why Belgium is at the heart of a destructive wave of terror in Europe
November 17, 2015 12:53
As a modest, if prosperous nation of just 11 million, Belgium rarely makes news headlines, yet today it has the unenviable distinction of being Europe's jihadist hothouse.
After the Paris attacks, police quickly traced the terrorists to Brussels, raiding addresses in the Molenbeek district and arresting seven suspects. It was in the grimy, run-down, neighbourhood that investigators believe the Paris plot was hatched by Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Belgian-born son of an immigrant shopkeeper from Morocco.
Abaaoud is only part of a web of Belgium-based foot soldiers, whose exploits have left a trail of death across Europe. And beyond: around 500 young Belgians have gone to Syria to fight for jihadist groups like ISIS '" per capita, no other European country has sent more foreign fighters.
After the Paris attacks, police quickly traced the terrorists to Brussels, raiding addresses in the Molenbeek district and arresting seven suspects. It was in the grimy, run-down, neighbourhood that investigators believe the Paris plot was hatched by Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Belgian-born son of an immigrant shopkeeper from Morocco.
Abaaoud is only part of a web of Belgium-based foot soldiers, whose exploits have left a trail of death across Europe. And beyond: around 500 young Belgians have gone to Syria to fight for jihadist groups like ISIS '" per capita, no other European country has sent more foreign fighters.
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