Tre döda i tillslag mot terrorister i Belgien.

I Belgien åtalas nu fem personer för att ha medverkat i en terroristgrupp, efter att den belgiska polisen med omfattande räder och gripanden stoppat ett misstänkt större terrordåd.

Polisen har ännu inte släppt identiteten på de två män som sköts ihjäl.

Belgiska åklagare menar att en större terrorattack var bara timmar bort när polisen slog till.

Like the Brussels suburbs of Anderlecht or Vilvoorde, Verviers, which sits at the foot of the Ardennes near the German border, is reported to have an increasingly radicalised Muslim population.

Michael Privot, an expert on Islam affiliated to the Catholic University of Louvain who lives in Verviers and is a Muslim convert, said local youths could be easily influenced to join the jihadist cause.

"The young people who come from here, mainly of Moroccan origin and Algerian, are all linked. As soon as one of them goes (to fight jihad), that acts like a clarion call," he told RTL television.

The suspected Jihadists, who were gunned down by armed officers in Verviers overnight, were inspired by the murder of fusilier Lee Rigby two years ago, the lead investigator has revealed. A third was overpowered after being wounded during the raid.

Federal prosecutor Eric Van der Sypt, who coordinated a series of raids on 12 alleged terrorist hideouts across Belgium, told Mail Online: 'Their plan was to launch attacks similar to that in London when a soldier was killed. They wanted to kill policeman on the street .'

In total, 13 people were arrested in last night's raids, according to Mr Van der Sypt, and five people have since been charged with terror offences.

The radical Islamic group also wanted to film the horrific murder and then circulate the footage online, bringing the brutality of ISIS to the West, police sources said.
The group was reportedly equipped with Belgian police uniforms, four Kalashnikov machine guns, handguns and explosives. Another part of their twisted plot included taking a number of hostages by seizing a bus, it was reported by Belgium's RTL broadcaster.

Terroristerna i Belgien uppges ha planerat att halshugga en domare – och filma allt.
Nu tros hjärnan bakom planen ha gripits i Grekland.
Mannen uppges vara bror till en av personerna i den nu sprängda terrorcellen.