Daesh claims machete assault in Belgium's Charleroi

The Daesh Takfiri terrorist group has claimed responsibility for an assault by a machete-wielding man against two police officers in the Belgian city of Charleroi.

Quoting an unidentified source, the Amaq news agency, which is affiliated to Daesh, said on Sunday that the assailant was a "soldier" of the Takfiri terrorist group.

According to the Daesh-linked news agency, the attack came "in response to calls to target citizens" belonging to countries participating in a US-led coalition which is striking purported Daesh positions in Syria and Iraq.

Belgian prosecutors confirmed that the attacker was an Algerian national known to the police for criminal offences but not terrorism.

The federal prosecutor's office said in a statement that the 33-year-old, identified by the initials as K.B., had been living in Belgium since 2012.

Local media reports said Saturday that the man attacked the two officers near the central police station in the city. The assault was carried out at about 4:00 p.m. local time.

A third officer shot and injured the attacker on the site. He later died of his wounds.

Belgium has been on alert since March 22, when terrorist attacks hit the Brussels airport and a subway station, killing over 30 people. Daesh claimed the deadly assaults.

SS