Belgian Extremist Soldier Sought by Authorities Planned Mosque Attack, Intelligence Reveals

The information, drawn from "several well-informed sources", was published on Wednesday in the newspaper Le Soir and the magazine Knack, reports 7 sur 7. According to these two media, the internal investigations, the first conclusions of which were presented on Tuesday, revealed that after 2015 when Jürgen Conings first appeared on the radar of the State Security, he was listed in 2017-2019 by the police and justice services, after being arrested on various occasions for "carrying a prohibited weapon" (bladed weapon), for "threats" and for "participation in an extreme right-wing group" in 2018.

In August 2020, Conings is the subject of a preliminary investigation conducted by OCAM as a "potentially violent extremist", before having his level 2 security clearance withdrawn on August 31, 2020, a withdrawal that was notified to him three months later, on November 12. Despite all these elements, Defense appoints Jürgen Conings as an instructor. The following month, he is considered dangerous after a psychological report from the State Security.

On February 1, 2021, the intelligence services had information that the soldier was considering carrying out an attack against a mosque. Following a new alert on February 17, 2021, Jürgen Conings is assessed and considered by Ocam as a "serious" threat.

The ongoing investigation, led by the R Committee, is to be completed by early July. For the moment, the State Security and the General Intelligence and Security Service (SGRS) refrain from any comment on this file.