FBI links him to failed attack: suspect for terrorism from Koksijde free with ankle bracelet

The investigation started after foreign information about the suspect. Based on his place of residence, a judicial investigation was ordered under the supervision of the Bruges investigating judge specialized in terrorism cases.

Fingerprint

The FBI would have linked the Iraqi from Koksijde to a failed attack via fingerprints. It would be a print of his thumb on the tape used to make a bomb. The bomb in question was found in a rubbish bin in his neighborhood and dismantled.

Ismaïl A. was arrested in early July 2021. He was then arrested by the investigating judge on suspicion of terrorist murder, terrorist attempted murder and participation in a terrorist group. The suspect is said to have been involved in an al-Qaeda section in 2005 and 2006. In addition to the failed bomb attack, according to an anonymous witness, A. also played a role in a fatal shooting. That incident occurred at a Sunni mosque, while A. himself is said to be a Sunni Muslim.

“Innocent”

The suspect is still proclaiming his innocence. Master Nadia Lorenzetti repeatedly successfully pressed for a conditional release in the Bruges council chamber. After appeals from the federal public prosecutor’s office, that decision was reversed several times by the Ghent Chamber of Indictment (KI).

At the end of May, the AI ​​again ruled that A. should be detained, but it was decided that he may undergo pre-trial detention under electronic supervision. The suspect is now at home with an ankle bracelet pending his trial.