Belgium has experienced many terrorist attacks over the past 15 years and has become a logistical center and breeding ground for jihadi groups like ISIL. The Brussels attacks in March 2016 followed the arrest of an accused suspect in the November 2015 Paris attacks. Heightened security has been imposed in many countries as intelligence sharing between EU member states can help enhance counterinsurgency capabilities, though it requires a high level of trust.

1. Intelligence Sharing Will Enhance EU Member States’ Capabilities for Counterinsurgency
Tuesday’s attacks on Brussels airport and downtown metro stop in Brussels follow the arrest of Salah
Abdeslam, an accused suspect in the November terror attacks in Paris that targeted a concert hall, a
stadium, cafes as well as restaurants, killing 130 people and injuring at least 350 others.
Heightened security measures have been imposed around the world, with the United States, the United
Kingdom, Spain and the Czech Republic deploying more forces in transportation centres and potential
soft targets. Security will remain heightened in Belgium and other European nations.
Terror Attacks in Belgium
For fifteen years, Belgium has witnessed many terror attacks. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attacks on Tuesday. Belgium is not just the capital of the European
Union it represents the ‘logistical centre’ for ISIL. Molenbeek, an inner-city district in Brussels depicts a
breeding ground for jihadi.
The suspect in a shooting that killed four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels in 2014 had stayed in
Molenbeek and so are other attackers, including members of a suspected ISIL terror cell in Verviers and
a member of the group responsible for the 2004 train bombings in Madrid that killed 191. Belgian
Interior Minister Jan Jambon has vowed to rid the community of Jihadi after the Paris attacks in
November.
In October 2004, a Belgian court sentenced to prison terms eight Islamic militants linked to Al Qaeda for
plotting terror attacks. On November 14, 2015 Belgian police arrested some people after searches linked
them to Paris Terror attacks.
While there is a growing proof of small jihadist cells operating in Europe, especially in places like
Molenbeek, Belgium remains a country with the highest per capita numbers of nationals and/ residents
who have traveled to Syria and Iraq to take up arms. According to the United Nations working group on
the use of mercenaries, an estimated 500 Belgians have left Belgium to fight in places such as Syria and
Iraq. Brussels-based Egmont think-tank also estimated that at least 300 Belgians have to Syria and Iraq
to join ISIL.
High Level of Trust and Intelligence Sharing
Uniting against terror must go beyond mere declarations, European Union member States must unite to
share and coordinate intelligence in the fight against terrorist originations. While Intelligence sharing
requires a high level of trust, it presents a unique opportunity for the enhancement of EU member
states’ combat capabilities for counterinsurgency.