Belgian prosecutors are analysing a video claiming jihadist responsibility for a Liege synagogue blast, treating it with caution as they investigate the suspected terrorist crime.
BRUSSELS: Belgian authorities confirmed on Thursday they are investigating a video containing an apparent jihadist claim of responsibility for an explosion that damaged a synagogue in the city of Liege.
Federal prosecutors have been treating the pre-dawn blast on Monday, which caused no injuries, as a suspected terrorist crime since it occurred.
A clip circulating on social media seemingly shows a masked man walking on the pavement opposite the building’s entrance moments before the explosion.
Federal prosecutor’s office spokeswoman Ann Lukowiak told AFP that officials are busy analysing the video to verify its authenticity and trace its origin.
The prosecutor’s office noted the clip features text overlay in Arabic including a claim from a jihadist group already known to Belgian authorities, but said it was treating the video with caution.
The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist activities, said the footage was published by a newly-formed militant group and was promoted online by Shia militant accounts alongside threats against US and Israeli interests worldwide.
This development comes as the United States and Israel are in the second week of a bombing campaign targeting Iran, a Shia theocracy.
Israel’s ambassador to Belgium, Idit Rosenzweig-Abu, reposted images of the synagogue blast on social media, describing them as extremely concerning.
Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever vowed to combat antisemitism after Monday’s blast, which Jewish groups warned followed a rise in such incidents in the country.
Belgium’s Jewish community numbers some 40,000 people, mainly in Antwerp and Brussels, with places of worship subject to heightened security measures on occasion in recent years.
The country had stepped up security after Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.
