On 5 October 2016, three police officers were attacked by a man wielding a machete in the Schaerbeek municipality of Brussels, Belgium.
The suspected assailant, a Belgian citizen named Hicham Diop, was apprehended and charged with attempted terrorism-related murder and participating in a terrorist group.
[2] Inside a waste container near the house they also found a computer belonging to Ibrahim El Bakraoui who is believed to have carried out suicide bombings during the attacks along with his brother.
[6][7] ISIS has used social media to inspire sympathizers in Western countries to target police and soldiers for attack on the grounds that they represent the state.
[13] The attack occurred as a summit of world leaders, including American Secretary of State John Kerry, met in Brussels to discuss Afghanistan.
[6] According to Belgian media, he was a 43-year-old Belgium Army veteran and former boxer who was discharged in 2009 and was previously known to police[18][19][20][21] and to security services for his contacts with extremist Islamists.
The defense asserted that the incident was a family quarrel relating to events that occurred years ago in Senegal.
[31] An additional set of charges was filed in June 2017 for threatening two officers with death as they transported him to the police station following his arrest for assault in October 2016.
"[35] Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon tweeted a statement after the attack, expressing his support for police officers in Schaerbeek.