Returning jihadists may have been planning to bomb EU quarter

The European Commission’s Berlaymont headquarters in Brussels were a possible target for jihadist fighters returning from Syria, it was revealed at the weekend as Belgian authorities cracked down in an effort to thwart extremist attacks.

Dutch public broadcaster NOS said at least two people among those arrested in the Belgian operations came from The Hague. "They were planning an attack. One of the targets was the European Commission building," NOS reported, adding that the aim was to kill as many people as possible.

The plans were likened to the attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels in May, which left four people dead: those were the work of Frenchman Mehdi Nemmouche who spent more than a year fighting with Islamist extremists in Syria and is now being held in Belgium on charges of "murder in a terrorist context".

The Belgian government has repeatedly warned of the threat of radicalized Belgians who volunteer to fight with Islamic extremists in Syrian and Iraq: they often return to Europe intent on attacking their former home. Up to 400 Belgian nationals are estimated to have gone to fight in Syria, with about 90 known to have returned home.