A gunman claiming allegiance to ISIS opened fire on a group of Swedish football fans in Belgium, resulting in two fatalities.
The assailant targeted the men as they were heading to the Euro 2024 clash with Sweden on Boulevard d'Ypres on the night of October 16.
The victims were donning their national team's jerseys, en route to the match at King Baudouin Stadium, and a third person sustained severe injuries.
The alleged attacker identified himself as 'Slayem Slouma' and boasted about the two murders on Facebook, citing a desire to avenge the killing of a six-year-old US-Palestinian boy.
In Arabic, he celebrated the killings and claimed them in the name of ISIS. The shooter remains at large.
Authorities confirmed that the individual in a trending video, dressed in an orange jacket, black scarf, yellow baseball hat, and a thick black beard, was the suspect linked to the attack.
The match between Belgium and Sweden was suspended, with players and fans confined inside the stadium. The country's terror alert level was raised to the highest, level 4.
According to Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, the gunman used an automatic rifle and fled the scene on a scooter. He declared that he was seeking retribution for the stabbing of six-year-old US-Palestinian boy Wadea Al-Fayoume, who was fatally knifed in Plainfield, Illinois, on Saturday morning. Witnesses reported hearing him shout 'Allahu Akbar' (God is the Greatest).
An investigating source remarked that the incident displayed characteristics of a terrorist attack. The source noted the circulation of a video on social media in which the attacker explained his motive to "take revenge" by killing three people from Sweden.
Belgium's Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, offered his condolences to the victims' families and urged citizens to remain vigilant, stating, "My deepest condolences to the relatives of the cowardly assassination attempt in Brussels. I monitor developments together with the Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs from the national crisis center."
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