Belgian Authorities Carry Out Anti-Terror Raid: 2 Dead, 1 Captured

Two men are dead after Belgian security forces executed a raid on a location they say was being used to plot a major terrorist attack.

The Guardian reports that in addition to the two dead suspects, the Belgian authorities apprehended a third man.

The Belgian government says the men were part of a network of radical jihadists who had recently returned to Europe after spending time on the battlefields of Syria.

The raid that left two dead and a third arrested was one of 10 nearly simultaneous operations that took place throughout Belgium in an effort to crack down on the aforementioned network. The raids took place in the Belgian capital of Brussels and the towns of Molenbeek, Vilvorde, and Verviers, and were the culmination of weeks of police work.

The deaths happened in Verviers. When police began to exercise their search warrant, the suspects began to open fire on them with military grade weapons, according to The Guardian.

No bystanders or law enforcement personnel were injured in the firefight, but one of the injured suspects is said to be from Russia's Chechnya region, which is itself sometimes rocked by jihadist violence.

The government did not release information about the numerous other raids that occurred throughout Belgium.

Although details are still scarce, The Guardian, citing Belgian media, reports that the suspects were thought to be planning assaults on police stations throughout the country.

Around 300 Belgians are said to have gone to fight in Syria, according to The Guardian.

This raid is sure to keep Europeans on edge in regards to terrorism as it came just a week after the devastating attack on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo that left 12 dead and the ensuing days of terror in which more innocent lives were lost.