BRUSSELS: The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Saturday’s machete attack on two Belgian police officers after the prime minister announced it was conducting an investigation in whether it was terrorism.
On Sunday, the group described the assailant as a soldier of the caliphate, which is connected to the Islamic State. Prime Minister Charles Michel announced “we have been informed by federal prosecutors that an investigation has started for attempted terrorist murder.”
Two officers were injured during their encounter with a machete-wielding man near the police station in the Belgian city of Charleroi, the authorities said. Though one sustained serious head injuries, the two police officers were out of danger, Belgian authorities said Saturday night.
Around 4pm, a man approached a checkpoint manned by two officers in front of the police headquarters, a Charleroi police spokesman told Belgian television and radio. He took a machete out of a sports bag he was carrying and struck the heads of the officers.
A third police officer, standing nearby, shot the attacker, who later died. The attacker has not been identified. The prime minister said it was important not to jump to conclusions. The interior ministry said that about 457 Belgians had gone or tried to join militants in the Middle East.