Belgian authorities charge brother of suspect in Brussels police stabbings

Belgian prosecutors said the brother of a man charged with stabbing two Brussels police officers has been arrested and charged with participating in the activities of a terrorist group.

Belgian prosecutors said the brother of a man charged with stabbing two Brussels police officers has been arrested and charged with participating in the activities of a terrorist group.

A security perimeter set around n the scene where two police officers were stabbed on October 5, 2016 in the Schaerbeek neighbourhood, in Brussels. (AFP Photo)

A statement from the Federal Prosecutor’s Office on Friday gave no additional details about the brother, identified only as a Belgian citizen named Aboubaker D who was born in 1970.

His sibling Hicham D., 43, has been charged with attempted murder in a terrorist context and participating in the activities of a terrorist group in connection with the Wednesday stabbings in the Schaerbeek district of Brussels.

Belgian media have reported that Hicham D is a veteran of the Belgian army who was discharged in 2009.

Officials said the injuries to the police officers were not life-threatening.