Belgium justice minister quits after Brussels shooting that left two Swedes dead

BRUSSELS - Belgian Justice Minister Vincent van Quickenborne said on Friday he has decided to step down, following pressure over how Belgium had handled the case of a Tunisian gunman who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and

killed two people in Brussels this week.

Mr Van Quickenborne said an investigation into the 45-year-old Tunisian man, who shot dead two Swedish football fans in Brussels on Monday night, revealed that a request by Tunisia to extradite him from Belgium in August 2022 had been neglected by the Belgian justice authorities.

"This is an inexcusable error that has had dramatic effects," Mr Van Quickenborne told reporters. "I want to take full political responsibility for this," he added, as he announced his resignation.

In a video on social media, the gunman called himself Abdesalem Al Guilani and claimed responsibility for the attack.

He was shot dead by the police on Tuesday. He unsuccessfully sought asylum in Belgium in 2019 and had been living there illegally. Al Giulani was known to Belgian police in connection with helping smuggle people into Britain, Mr Van Quickenborne said earlier this week.

The gunman targeted Swedes who were in Brussels to watch Belgium play Sweden in a European Championship qualifying match.

The game was abandoned

on Monday due to the shooting.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo called the shooting a “brutal terrorist attack”.

It came at a time of heightened security concerns due to

the war between Israel and Hamas,

but Belgian prosecutors said the gunman appeared motivated more by Quran burnings in Sweden.

In August, Sweden raised its terrorism alert to the second-highest level after Quran burnings outraged Muslims and triggered threats from militants. REUTERS