Terrorists Behind Brussels Attack Were Originally Planning Another Attack on France

They shifted their target from France to Belgium when they realized how quickly the Paris investigation was moving forward.

Image via CNN

The terrorist attacks in Brussels last month orchestrated by extremist group ISIS left 32 people dead and another 270 injured. The horrendous attacks prompted some responses that invited criticism, such as Donald Trump bragging about being "right" on the topic of terrorism and KhloeKardashian focusing in on the tragedy in Brussels without addressing the wider scope of global terrorism. A new development in the Brussels attack has revealed that the extremists who carried out the attack were initially planning to launch a second attack on France following the attacks on Paris in November. 

According to the Associated Press the perpetrators of the Brussels attack decided to direct their efforts to Brussels when they realized the speed with which the Paris investigation was progressing. Many suspected that the attacks in Belgium were spurred on by the raids and arrests that occurred in the week prior— including the capture of Salah Abdeslam, one of the main terrorists behind the Paris attacks— and statements by the Belgian Justice Minster Koen Geens and French Prime Minister Manuel Valls confirm those suspicions. 

While the Belgian federal prosecutor's office didn't provide any further details on the initial French plot, Valls said, "It's fresh proof of the very real threat that weighs on all of Europe, and on France in particular." Geens says the attacks constitute "a dirty war."

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