I wrote an article about the alleged leader of Hamas in Europe, Majed Al-Zeer, and the organization he founded last year in Brussels: the European Palestinian Council for Political Relations, also known as EUPAC (1/8) hln.be/israel-palesti… Al-Zeer is a 61 y/o Briton of Palestinian descent, living in Berlin. Moved to Kuwait as a child and to UK in the 90s. In a 2009 interview with the Hamas-aligned newspaper 'Felesteen', he reportedly told of a relative who died in the ranks of the Izzedin Al-Qassam Brigades (2/8)

It wasn't just Hamas... I wrote an article (in Dutch) about all the other armed groups, apart from the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, that participated in the October 7, 2023 incursions and attacks on Israeli soil (1/15) hln.be/israel-palesti… With what we know now, it seems clear that the 'Joint Operations Room of Palestian Resistance Factions' exercises played a crucial role in preparing for what happened last weekend (2/15)

Long-running rumors that the terror cell behind the March 22, 2016 Brussels attacks actually intended to attack the European Football Championship in June of that same year in France have been confirmed with new details (1/10) hln.be/binnenland/boe… All of this we found in the indictment for the trial that will start in October - 486 pages completed very recently. It was known already that Mohamed Abrini, one of the surviving Brussels attackers, told interrogators about such an EC plot (2/10)

Here my most comprehensive profile yet of Belgian Islamic State operative Yassine Lachiri, who was arrested at the Turkish-Bulgarian border. One of the most severely convicted Belgian foreign terrorist fighters ever. A few highlights in English (1/12) hln.be/buitenland/por… Firstly, a link to a Bulgarian report on his arrest around 11pm Wednesday evening, which states that Lachiri entered Bulgaria using a forged Belgian passport (2/12) bntnews.bg/news/zadarzhan…

Sometime in the 1990s, an al-Qaida scout wrote about an attack on Belgian soldiers in Somalia, in a report to Osama Bin Laden. We investigated which attack it could be - and who would be among the first Europeans killed by al-Qaida as a result (1/18) hln.be/nieuws/onderzo… Background: Somalia was ravaged by a civil war at the time and the UN peacekeepers operating there under the name UNOSOM - mostly from the United States - included Belgian blue helmets (2/18)

Confirmed by multiple sources that two former #IslamicState women from #Belgium & #France have managed to escape from the #SDF detainee camp in #Roj, #Syria. It has happened two weeks ago, and both fugitives have been recaptured and imprisoned since (1/6)
hln.be/nieuws/buitenl… The Belgian is Cassandra Bodart, a convert from Jemeppe-sur-Sambre who joined IS in 2013. After two years, she wanted to leave - but she had to wait until the death of French-Algerian husband Abdel Hamid Derguiani in August 2017 to turn herself in (2/6)
thenational.ae/world/mena/in-…

Two independent sources have ID’d two of the #IslamicState women from #Belgium escaped from #SDF camp in #AlHol months before the Turkish offensive already. They appear to be two of our most dangerous ones (1/5) hln.be/nieuws/buitenl… Kaoutar Bioui (32), aka Umm Haniefa, is the wife of former #Shariah4Belgium headpiece Hicham Chaïb. He appeared in an official #IslamicState video shortly after the #BrusselsAttacks, executing a prisoner with a shot in the head (2/5)

What we hear about the SDF detainee camp of Ain Issa in Syria, where almost 800 Islamic State women are said to have escaped, is that all women are virtually free since SDF has fled the scene. But not all women have left, however (1/4) hln.be/nieuws/buitenl… Those who have renounced Islamic State since they were captured, tend to stay - because they hope that Turkish control will increase their chances to go home. They most fear Islamic State, rumored to send cars already to pick women up (2/4)

Time to get a few things straight about Anouar Haddouchi, #IslamicState member from #Belgium whose capture by SDF was recently confirmed. While the exact moment wasn’t mentioned here, there were rumors that he was caught since March already (1/7)

https://twitter.com/mustefabali/status/1167797724823085057

Haddouchi is often nicknamed the ‘executioner of Raqqah’ these days. Based on declarations of a local councillor, about a certain ‘Abu Souleymen al-Belgiki’ who beheaded more than 100 people there (2/7) 7sur7.be/home/le-parque…

Sifted through mobile phone contents of #IslamicState supporter from #Belgium, released by @GhostSquadHack. 19 y/o male from Antwerp, who tried in vain to reach #Syria in 2016 and was arrested shortly after on suspicion of plotting an attack at home (1/6) hln.be/nieuws/binnenl… He spent some time in a juvenile institution, but while 2 recruiters and 3 co-conspirators were convicted in December 2017, he wasn’t prosecuted because of his minor age. Recent contents of his phone show that he isn’t deradicalized, nor disengaged (2/6)

It may be a little late, but here a new identity of an executioner in November 2014 #IS video ‘Although the disbelievers dislike it’ revealed. Arben Imishti, a #Kosovo citizen living in #Belgium, joined beheading of Syrian soldiers (1/10) hln.be/de-krant/man-u… Back in 2014, Belgian security services thought that they had recognized another Belgian in that video — the same in which #JihadiJohn appeared with executed US hostage Peter Kassig. But that identification turned out to be false (2/10)