Outside the Beltway

Breaking: Grenade Attacks in Belgium

Steven L. Taylor · Tuesday, December 13, 2011 · 2 comments

The BBC reports: Deadly attack rocks central Liege in Belgium

A gun and grenade attack in the centre of the Belgian city of Liege has killed at least two people and wounded about 25, Belgian media say.

They say several men threw grenades and fired on a crowd at a bus stop in Place Saint Lambert, a busy square.

The very brief report states that one attacker has been reported dead and another is in custody, but that gunfire had not yet ceased.

The who and the why of the attack are unclear at the moment.

A bit more from the NYT: Reports: 2 Dead in Hand Grenade Attack in Belgium.

FILED UNDER: Europe, World Politics, BBC, Belgium, New York Times

About Steven L. Taylor

Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

mattb says:

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 at 10:48

Sigh… and I see a member of the conservative blog network (on the right) is already suggesting a *possible* link to radical Islam. I look forward to calls to show live footage of this terrible attack as part of the “All-Amercian Muslim” program.

Remember how well that went for people of that mindset when the facts came out about the Norway shooting?
sam says:

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 at 12:20

Here’s a bit from a French story:

Nordine Amrani, 32 ans, était déjà connu des services judiciaires. Une perquisition avait été menée à son domicile il y a quelque temps, rue Bonne Nouvelle, à Liège. Les enquêteurs recherchaient alors des plants de cannabis et avaient finalement découvert des armes. Il avait été condamné en septembre 2008 à 58 mois de prison ferme pour avoir détenu 9.500 pièces d’armes et une dizaine d’armes complètes ainsi que la culture de 2.800 plants de cannabis dans le cadre d’une association de malfaiteurs.

Dope and gun convictions, evidently.