MOSCOW, January 16 (Sputnik) - Two terror suspects have been confirmed killed in a counterterrorism operation in the city of Verviers in eastern Belgium, the Belga news agency has reported.
Belga quoted Belgian federal prosecutors as saying that a police counterterrorism operation had been conducted near the center of the city based on an intelligence tip-off. The Belgian public television channel RTBF has reported several casualties, including two people reported killed and a third injured, and that police activity in the area is ongoing. Belgian Police said that "several" people have been detained.
Photo d'un témoin (Facebook) sur place #Verviers pic.twitter.com/VmSTXuf3p8
— Nathan Soret (@NathanSoret) 15 января 2015
An official told Agence France-Presse that the raid was "jihadist related".
The BBC has reported witnesses hearing gunfire over the course of several minutes, along with at least three explosions.
The incident in the Western European country comes a week after a series of attacks in Paris claimed the lives of 17 people, including journalists of the weekly satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and French police officers. It is unclear whether the Belgium raid is connected to either the Charlie Hebdo or the Paris Kosher market attacks.
