Militant Incidents in Belgium (2011-2020)

by | Jan 25, 2019 | Belgium Coverage, Incident Reports

Total casualties

41 fatalities

390 fatalities

Total incidents

Incidents in Brussels
(share of total)

%

Frequent modalities

  • Incidendiary attacks (38 incidents)
  • Knife attacks (13 incidents)
  • Assaults (11 incidents)

Frequent targets

  • Police facilities (10 incidents)
  • Police mobile assets (7 incid.)
  • Jewish com. members (5 incidents)

Common conflicts

  • Urban violence (19 incidents)
  • Islamist Militancy (13 incidents)
  • Turkish Spillover (9 incidents)

Overview of incidents

2011: 15 incidents (3 injuries)
  1. Jan. 25, 2011 – Two police vans were destroyed in an arson attack at a car dealership in the city of Gent, in the province of Oost-Vlaanderen. [NB]
  2. Apr. 01, 2011 – Assailants hurled a homemade incendiary bomb at a police station in the Gilly suburb of Charlerloi, in the Hainaut province. [DH]
  3. Apr. 04, 2011 – Attackers set fire to seven parked cars and a bulldozer in separate incidents in the city of Charleroi, in the Hainaut province. [HLN]
  4. Apr. 09, 2011 – Two parked cars were set alight by unidentified assailants in the city of Charleroi, in the Hainaut province. [HLN]
  5. Apr. 20, 2011 – Thugs hurled a firebomb at a police van in the Gilly suburb of Charleroi, in the Hainaut province. None of the officers inside were hurt in the incident. [DH]
  6. May 12, 2011 – Unidentified assailants set fire to the car of a prosecutor outside a courthouse in the city of Arlon, in the province of Luxembourg. [DH]
  7. May 30, 2011 – A small bomb exploded inside a store of the Swedish IKEA furniture manufacturer in the city of Gent, in the Oost-Vlaanderen Criminal elements were responsible for the incident. [DH, HLN, Reut & RTL]
  8. Jun. 12, 2011 – A local gay man was wounded when immigrant thugs from Latin America assaulted him on a street in the city center of Brussels. [Brz]
  9. Aug. 21, 2011 – A car of the state telecommunications company was destroyed in an arson attack on a street in the Anderlecht suburb of Brussels. Two other cars were also damaged in the incident. [DH]
  10. Nov. 01, 2011 – Kurdish assailants threw incendiary bombs at a Turkish cultural center in the city of Antwerpen. A bystander who tried to put out the flames was slightly hurt in the incident. [GvA & HLN]
  11. Nov. 12, 2011 – Thugs hurled a firebomb at a restaurant and set fire to parked cars and street furniture in the city center of Liège. The violence came during disturbances by immigrant youths after an African criminal died in a failed robbery. [DH & Lib]
  12. Nov. 18, 2011 – A Jewish girl was hurt when she was assaulted by female immigrant thugs as she was walking home from a sports center in the Neder-over-Heembeek suburb of Brussels. [Brz]
  13. Nov. 20, 2011 – An attacker hurled incendiary bombs at two parked police vehicles outside a local government office in the Farciennes suburb of Charleroi, in the Hainaut province, causing only damage. [DH & Lib]
  14. November 2011 – Unidentified assailants set fire to the entrance of a police station in the town of Quaregnon, in the province of Hainaut. [DH]
  15. Dec. 10, 2011 – Four police vehicles were badly damaged when assailants hurled several firebombs into the parking lot of a police station in the Elsene suburb of Brussels. The incident was linked to unrest by members of the Congolese community angry over election results in their homeland. [DH]
2012: 7 incidents (1 fatality, 4 injuries)
  1. Jan. 30, 2012 – Militants burnt the parked cars of two members of the European parliament, a diplomat and a NATO official in separate incidents in the city center of Brussels. The FRVI asserted responsibility for the attack. [Ave & RTL]
  2. Feb. 11, 2012 – A police station sustained damage in an arson attack by unknown assailants in the Dison suburb of Verviers, in the province of Liège. [RTL]
  3. Mar. 12, 2012 – A Salafi Islamist attacker set fire to a Shi’ite Muslim religious center in the Anderlecht suburb of Brussels. An imam was killed and another person was injured in the attack. [AFP, HLN, Lib & Reut]
  4. May 08, 2012 –  A thug of immigrant descent assaulted and injured the driver of a bus carrying Jewish schoolgirls at the airport of Charleroi, in the Hainaut [CFCA & GvA]
  5. Jun. 08, 2012 – An Islamist extremist stabbed and wounded two police officers at a subway station in the Molenbeek suburb of Brussels. [Brz, HLN & VRT]
  6. Jul. 29, 2012 – The home of an ethnic-Turkish supporter of the Flemish nationalist VB party was badly damaged in an arson attack in the town of Zelzate, in the Oost-Vlaanderen province. [NB]
  7. Aug. 06, 2012 – Thugs hurled a homemade incendiary bomb and rocks at police vehicles as security forces arrived at the site where the attackers had set fire to a parked car in the Brussels suburb of Anderlecht. [DH & Lib]
2013: 4 incidents (2 injuries)
  1. Jan. 09, 2013 – Unidentified assailants vandalized the residence of the Egyptian ambassador and set a fire in front of the building in the city center of Brussels. [Lib]
  2. Jan. 16, 2013 – Assailants hurled a firebomb at an office of a Kurdish community organization in Genk, in the province of Limburg. [7s7, HBVL, HLN & NB]
  3. Jan. 21, 2013 – A Kurdish thug stabbed and injured two Turkish youths at a high school in the town of Genk in the Limburg province. The incident took place after an altercation over the burning of a Turkish flag. [HLN, NB & VRT]
  4. Aug. 26, 2013 – Unknown assailants hurled a firebomb at a mosque in the town of Colfontaine, in the Hainaut province, causing minor damage. [DH]
2014: 7 incidents (5 fatalities, 4 injuries)
  1. Mar. 12, 2014 – Attackers hurled a homemade incendiary bomb at a police station in the Droixhé neighborhood of Liège. [DH & HLN]
  2. May 24, 2014 – A campaign vehicle of the Flemish nationalist N-VA party was destroyed in an arson attack by unknown assailants in Beersel, in the Vlaams-Brabant [Brz, HBVL, Lib & VTM]
  3. May 24, 2014 – An Algerian member of the DaIISh opened fire at visitors inside a Jewish museum in the city center of Brussels, killing four people. The dead included two Israeli citizens and a French national. [AFP, AP, CNN, Hrtz, Lib & Reut]
  4. Sep. 16, 2014 – Assailants set fire to a synagogue in the Anderlecht suburb of Brussels. The janitor and two family members were intoxicated by the smoke. [AFP, DH, Lib & Reut]
  5. Sep. 29, 2014 – Unidentified assailants detonated a small incendiary bomb outside a police station in the Brussels‘ suburb of Anderlecht. [Brz, DH, RTBF & RTL]
  6. Nov. 15, 2014 – A Jewish Ultra-Orthodox man was injured in a knife attack by an unidentified assailant on a street in the city of Antwerpen. [CFCA, GvA & HLN]
  7. Dec. 14, 2014 – Terrorists loyal to the DaIISh shot and killed an elderly Belgian man on a street in the Jette suburb of Brussels. [DH, HLN & Morg]
2015: 9 incidents (2 injuries)
  1. Jan. 06, 2015 – A group of attackers hurled homemade firebombs at a police station in the Laken suburb of Brussels. No one was hurt in the incident. [DH, HLN & Lib]
  2. Jan. 15, 2015 – DaIISh terrorists opened fire at Belgian special forces who raided their hideout in the city of Verviers, in the Liège province, sparking a fierce gun battle in which two militants were eliminated. [AP, CNN, DH, HLN, Lib & Reut]
  3. Feb. 03′, 2015 – A student was badly injured when thugs assaulted him with a baseball bat at a high school in the Anderlecht suburb of Brussels. The victim was attacked after he had refused to participate in efforts by Muslim students to remove a teacher who had condemned Islamist terrorism in France. [Brz]
  4. Feb. 18, 2015 – Militants set fire to the house of the architect of a new prison at an undisclosed location in Brussels, causing only damage. The attack was blamed on the LC. [HLN]
  5. May 04, 2015 – A group of assailants set fire to a police station in the town of Vilvoorde, in the Vlaams-Brabant The attack resulted in only minor damage. The incident was attributed to the LC. [NB & VTM]
  6. Jun. 12, 2015 – Assailants set fire to a business center under construction in the Laken suburb of Brussels, causing considerable damage. The LC asserted responsibility for the incident. [BN]
  7. Sep. 03, 2015 – An Italian woman was assaulted and injured after she raised objections to a Maltese labor activist’s anti-Semitic rant at a café in the city of Brussels. [CFCA]
  8. Oct. 10, 2015 – A group of about twenty thugs hurled firebombs at the town hall and the main police station in the Anderlecht suburb of Brussels. A parked car was also set alight. [Brz, DH, HLN & Lib]
  9. Dec. 31, 2015 – Thugs of immigrant descent firebombed and destroyed a large Christmas tree in front of the town hall in the Anderlecht suburb of Brussels. Several cars were set on fire at another location nearby. [DH]
2016: 11 incidents (32 fatalities, 351 injuries)
  1. Mar. 15, 2016 – DaIISh terrorists opened fire at security forces who raided their hideout in the Vorst suburb of Brussels, injuring three Belgian police officers and a French colleague. An Algerian fighter was eliminated in retaliatory gunfire. [DH, HLN, Lib, Reut & Stan]
  2. Mar. 22, 2016 – Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the international airport of Brussels. Another suicide bomber later exploded aboard a subway train in the city center. The attacks killed 32 people and wounded at least 340 others. Many foreign nationals were among the casualties. The DaIISh claimed responsibility for the attacks. [AFP, AP, DH, HLN, Lib & Reut]
  3. Jun. 10, 2016 – Thugs set fire to two parked police vehicles in the Sint-Jans-Molenbeek suburb of Brussels. A vehicle of a local television station was also set ablaze. No one was hurt in the incident. [Brz, DH, HLN & Stan]
  4. Jun. 11, 2016 – A transgender person from Tunisia was wounded in a knife attack by Islamist thugs in the Etterbeek suburb of Brussels. [GvA, HLN, NB & Stan]
  5. Jun. 25, 2016 – A group of about a dozen thugs assaulted and injured a French gay man on a square in the city center of Brussels. [Brz]
  6. Jul. 25, 2016 – Unknown assailants hurled a firebomb at the entrance of a mosque in the town of Tubize, in the Brabant-Wallon province, causing only minor damage. [DH & Lib]
  7. Aug. 06, 2016 – Two policewomen were seriously injured when an Algerian terrorist attacked them with a machete outside a police station in the city of Charleroi, in the Hainaut province. The assailant was eliminated in retaliatory gunfire. The DaIISh claimed responsibility for the attack. [AP, Reut, RTBF & Soir]
  8. Sep. 07, 2016 – A Moroccan knifeman stabbed two police officers at a public park in the Molenbeek suburb of Brussels. None of the officers were hurt in the incident. [AFP & DH]
  9. Oct. 05, 2016 – Two police officers were wounded in a knife attack by an Islamist militant on an avenue in the Schaarbeek suburb of Brussels. The attacker assaulted and injured another officer who responded to the attack on his colleagues. [AFP, AP, DH & Reut]
  10. Dec. 14, 2016 – Two attackers set fire to a Kurdish cultural center in the Gilly suburb of Charleroi, in the Hainaut province, causing considerable damage. [7s7, DH & Lib]
  11. Dec. 15, 2016 – Assailants hurled three homemade incendiary bombs at a building housing a Turkish cultural association in Charleroi’s Marchienne-au-Pont suburb, in the Hainaut province. [DH]
2017: 16 incidents (8 injuries)
  1. Jan. 06, 2017 – A group of dozens of thugs hurled firebombs at a police station in the Laken suburb of Brussels. [Cap, DH, HLN & RTBF]
  2. Mar. 30, 2017 – Supporters of the Turkish nationalist-Islamist AKP party attacked Kurdish protesters outside the Turkish embassy in Brussels. Three Kurds were injured in the attack. [GvA, NB & VRT]
  3. Apr. 23, 2017 – Four parked police vans were set alight by unknown assailants in the Anderlecht suburb of Brussels. [Brz & HLN]
  4. May 01, 2017 – An attacker of Turkish descent stabbed and lightly injured a member of parliament for the communist PTB party as he was giving a speech to supporters on a street in the city of Liège. The assailant was angry over Belgian politicians’ failure to address his problems. [GvA, Morg & NB]
  5. Jun. 20, 2017 – An Islamist terrorist detonated a bomb at a railway station in the city center of Brussels. Belgian troops shot and killed the attacker. The DaIISh asserted responsibility for the incident. [AP, CNN, DH, HLN & Lib]
  6. Jul. 05, 2017 – A supporter of the Turkish nationalist-Islamist AKP party stabbed and injured a spokesman for the Gülen Movement in the Merksem suburb of Antwerpen. [Morg]
  7. Jul. 13, 2017 – Two vans of a social housing company were destroyed in an arson attack by unknown assailants in the Marcinelle suburb of Charleroi, in the province of Hainaut. [7s7]
  8. Aug. 24, 2017 – Assailants hurled a homemade firebomb at a police station in the Marolles neighborhood of Brussels. [BRZ, Cap, DH, RTBF & Soir]
  9. Aug. 25, 2017 – Two soldiers were injured in a knife attack by an Islamist of Somali origin in the city center of Brussels. The assailant was killed in retaliatory gunfire. [AP, CNN, HLN & Reut]
  10. Aug. 25, 2017 – Unknown attackers threw a firebomb at a police station in the Marolles neighborhood of Brussels. [7s7, Brz, Cap, DH, RTBF & Soir]
  11. Sep. 01, 2017 – A Jewish man was injured in an assault by a Muslim thug on a street in the city center of Antwerpen. [A7, FJO & JTA]
  12. Sep. 02, 2017 – An unidentified assailant set fire to a police station under construction in the Neder-over-Heembeek suburb of Brussels, causing considerable damage. [Brz]
  13. Sep. 27, 2017 – Unidentified assailants set fire to the factory of a company that produces parts for military vehicles in the town of Genk, in the Limburg province, inflicting considerable damage. [HBVL]
  14. Sep. 28, 2017 – An incendiary device went off at an ammunition factory in the Herstal suburb of Liège. No casualties were reported in the incident. [Meu]
  15. Oct. 29, 2017 – Assailants fired several shots at a building housing a Turkish cultural association in the Waterschei neighborhood of Genk, in the Limburg province. [HLN]
  16. Dec. 26, 2017 – Three parked police vans were set on fire by unknown assailants in the Anderlecht suburb of Brussels. [Brz & HLN]
2018: 13 incidents (3 fatalities, 11 injuries)
  1. Jan. 01, 2018 – Thugs set fire to a police station in the Haren suburb of Brussels, causing only minor damage. [Brz & DH]
  2. Jan. 02, 2018 – Several thugs hurled a homemade incendiary bomb at a police station in the Sint-Gillis suburb of Brussels. [7s7, Brz, Cap, DH, HLN & Lib]
  3. May 24, 2018 – A vehicle used in the election campaign of the conservative N-VA party was set on fire by unknown assailants in the city of Leuven, in the Vlaams-Brabant [Morg]
  4. May 29, 2018 – An Islamist stabbed and killed two policewomen as they were inspecting parking meters on a street in the city of Liège. A bystander was also stabbed dead before the assailant burst into a nearby high school. The attacker subsequently opened fire at policemen who tried to apprehend him, injuring four officers. [AFP, HLN, Lib, RTL, Soir]
  5. Jul. 02, 2018 – A young Muslim woman was hurt in an assault by nationalist thugs in the town of Anderlues, in the Hainaut province. [HLN, Soir & Stan]
  6. Sep. 25, 2018 – Unidentified assailants set a small fire outside the house of a member of parliament for the Flemish conservative NVA party Koen Daniëls in Sint-Gillis-Waas, in the province of Oost-Vlaanderen. [Lib]
  7. Sep. 27, 2018 – An incarcerated Chechen jihadi assaulted and injured five guards at a prison in the city of Hasselt, in the Limburg province. [GvA, HLN, Morg & Stan]
  8. Oct. 12, 2018 – The recreational vehicle of a communist candidate in the local elections was destroyed in an arson attack by unknown assailants in the town of Anderlues, in the Hainaut province. [DH]
  9. Nov. 20, 2018 – An Islamist attacker burst into a police station in the city center of Brussels before stabbing and injuring an officer. [Brz, Cap, HLN & Lib]
  10. Dec. 02, 2018 – Unidentified assailants hurled a homemade firebomb at the home of the social-democratic mayor in the Jupille suburb of Liège. [7s7, Cap, DH, HLN & Lib]
  11. Dec. 04, 2018 – An unknown attacker threw an incendiary bomb at the provincial headquarters in the city center of Liège. [DH & Lib]
  12. Dec. 05, 2018 – Unknown attackers set fire to the entrance of a courthouse in the city of Namur, causing only limited damage [DH]
  13. Dec. 29, 2018 – Unidentified assailants hurled a homemade incendiary bomb at a parked police van in the city center of Brussels. [Brz, Cap & HLN]
2019: 5 incidents (no casualties)
  1. Jan. 01, 2019 – Attackers threw a firebomb into a youth center and burnt a parked car in the Sint-Pieters-Woluwe suburb of Brussels. [DH]
  2. Sep. 05, 2019 – A police car was destroyed in an arson attack by several anarchists in the Sint-Gillis suburb of Brussels. [HLN]
  3. Sep. 06, 2019 – An anarchist set fire to a parked army truck in the Anderlecht suburb of Brussels, causing only minor damage. [HLN]
  4. Nov. 10, 2019 – Ultranationalist assailants set fire to a building scheduled to house immigrants in the city of Bilzen, in the Limburg province, partially destroying the structure. [DH, HLN, Lib & Morg]
  5. Dec. 25, 2019 – Four cars of a social housing company were set on fire by unknown attackers in the Marcinelle suburb of Charleroi, in the province of Hainaut. [7s7, DH & SI]
2020: 18 incidents (5 injuries)
  1. Mar. 07, 2020 – A Chinese national was slightly hurt in an assault by a North African immigrant in the city center of Brussels. The assailant accused the victim of spreading the coronavirus. [Cap]
  2. Mar. 11, 2020 – Thugs of immigrant descent assaulted and slightly hurt two Belgian women while racially abusing them at the parking lot of a supermarket in Londerzeel, in the province of Vlaams-Brabant. [HLN]
  3. Apr. 11, 2020 – A parked medical emergency vehicle was set alight by unknown attackers in the Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe suburb of Brussels. [Brz]
  4. Apr. 11, 2020 – A truck was set on fire by thugs in the Anderlecht suburb of Brussels. The incident came after a North African immigrant was killed in a traffic accident during a police chase. [HLN]
  5. Apr. 12, 2020 – Thugs of immigrant descent set fire to five parked cars in the Anderlecht suburb of Brussels. [HLN]
  6. Apr. 18, 2020 – A mobile phone tower was set on fire by unidentified assailants in Pelt, in the province of Limburg. [HLN]
  7. Apr. 30, 2020 – Three police vans and a car of an officer were destroyed in an arson attack by an anarchist outside a police station in the town of Arlon, in the Luxembourg province. [AVSI]
  8. Jul. 12, 2020 – Attackers burnt a motorcycle and waste bins in the Marollen neighborhood of Brussels. Assailants also hurled stones at a police car as it passed by. [Lib]
  9. Jul. 14, 2020 – A mobile telephone antenna was damaged in an arson attack by unknown assailants in the Watermaal-Bosvoorde suburb of Brussels. [Ave, DH, Lib & RTBF]
  10. Jul. 15, 2020 – Unknown assailants tossed a firebomb into an unmarked police car parked near a police station in the Marollen neighborhood of Brussels. [7s7, DH, Lib & Si]
  11. Jul. 27, 2020 – A man angry over the government’s coronavirus pandemic management hurled an incendiary bomb at the parliament building in Brussels. No one was hurt in the incident. [7s7, Brz, HLN & Lib]
  12. Sep. 05, 2020 – An activist for the communist PVDA party was hurt in an assault by an ultranationalist at a café in the city of Aalst, in the Oost-Vlaanderen province. [HLN]
  13. Sep. 06, 2020 – Thugs of immigrant descent vandalized a day care center and set fire to parked vehicles and trash bins before hurling incendiary bombs at firefighters arriving at the scene in the Marollen neighborhood of Brussels. [7s7, DH, HLN, Lib, Morg & Sta]
  14. Sep. 07, 2020 – A parked car was pushed in front of a day care center operated by the local government and set alight in the Marollen neighborhood of Brussels. [7s7 & HLN]
  15. Sep. 18, 2020 – Turkish nationalists assaulted and injured a Kurdish youth at his apartment in the town of Quaregnon, in the province of Hainaut. [Ave]
  16. Nov. 26, 2020 – Thugs hurled firebombs at the town hall in the Anderlecht suburb of Brussels. They also burnt an anonymous police car that was parked nearby. The assailants were angry over the acquittal of policemen for the death of an immigrant during a car chase earlier that year. [HLN & Lib]
  17. Dec. 20, 2020 – Unknown attackers threw a homemade firebomb at the police station in Court-Saint-Étienne, in the province of Brabant-Wallon, causing only minor damage. [7s7, DH & Si]
  18. Dec. 27, 2020 – Unidentified assailants set fire to the car of the Christian-democratic mayor in the town of Temse, in the Oost-Vlaanderen province. [GvA]
2021: 9 incidents (3 injuries)
  1. Jan. 01, 2021 – Unknown assailants pelted a public bus with a homemade firebomb and stones in the city center of Brussels. No one was hurt in the incident. [7s7, DH & HLN]
  2. Jan. 04, 2021 – An imprisoned Islamist terrorist stabbed and injured a guard at a penitentiary facility in the city of Gent, in the Oost-Vlaanderen province. [HBVL]
  3. Jan. 13, 2021 – A band of thugs assaulted and badly injured a policewoman before ransacking a police station in the Schaarbeek suburb of Brussels. The assailants set several fires at the post. The violence occurred following a protest by immigrants and left-wing extremists after a Guinean man had died of a heart attack while in police custody. [HLN & Lib]
  4. Jan. 25, 2021 – An opponent of the state coronavirus pandemic measures hurled a firebomb at the house of the former mayor and member of the liberal VLD party in Maasmechelen, in the Limburg province. [7s7]
  5. Mar. 16, 2021 – Unknown assailants hurled firebombs into a police station in the Sint-Gillis suburb of Brussels, causing only minimal damage. [7s7, DH & Lib]
  6. Nov. 05, 2021 – The two cars of an alderman for the social-democratic PS party were set on fire outside his home in Anderlues, in the Hainaut province. The incident came following an internal conflict within the local branch of the party. [DH & RTL]
  7. Nov. 10, 2021 – Two assailants set off an incendiary bomb at a mobile telephone antenna in the town of Ternat, in the Vlaams-Brabant province, considerably damaging the structure. [HLN, Mor & VRT]
  8. Dec. 04, 2021 – Attackers hurled a homemade incendiary bomb at the house of member of parliament for the Christian-democratic CSP party Pascal Arimont in the village of Büllingen, in the Ostbelgiën region. The politician was targeted over his vocal support for mandatory coronavirus vaccination. [7s7, DH & RTBF]
  9. Dec. 26, 2021 – Thugs assaulted and injured a young Belgian gay man on a street in the Couillet suburb of Charleroi, in the Hainaut province. [7s7 & DH]

AFP: Agence France-Presse (France), AP: Associated Press (America), BRZ: Bruzz (Belgium), Cap: Capital (Belgium), CFCA: Coordination Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism (Israel), CNN: Cable News Network (America), DH: Dernière Heure (Belgium), GvA: Gazet van Antwerpen (Belgium), HBVL: Belang van Limburg (Belgium), HLN: Laatste Nieuws (Belgium), Hrtz: Ha’Aretz (Israel), FJO: Forum der Joodse Organisaties (Belgium), JTA: Jewish Telegraphic Agency (America), Lib: Libre Belgique (Belgium), Morg: Morgen (Belgium), NB: Nieuwsblad (Belgium), Red: Redactie (Belgium), Reut: Reuters (Britain), RTBF: Radio Télévision Belge Francophone (Belgium), RTL: Radio Télévision Luxembourg (Luxemburg), Soir: Soir (Belgium), Stan: Standaard (Belgium), VTM: Vlaamse Televisie Maatschappij (Belgium)