Belgium asks Netherlands, Spain to extradite two suspects in Islamist attack probe

FILE PHOTO: Flowers placed by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo are seen among other items left as a tribute to the victims two days after a gunman shot dead two Swedes, at the place of the shooting in Brussels, Belgium October 18, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium has asked the Netherlands and Spain to extradite two suspects in connection with an Islamist militant attack in Brussels in 2023 that killed two Swedish citizens and injured a third person.

The suspects are believed to have helped gunman Abdesalem Lassoued obtain the weapon used in the attack, a spokesperson for Belgium's Federal Prosecutor's Office said.

He added that one suspect was arrested in Spain last weekend while the other was apprehended in the Netherlands the previous week, without giving more details.

Local Dutch newspaper De Limburger identified the suspect in the Netherlands as a 25-year-old man.

At the time of the attack, Belgium was hosting Sweden for a Euro 2024 soccer qualifying match.

Lassoued, a 45-year-old Tunisian, claimed responsibility for the attack in a video posted online where he also identified himself as a member of the Islamic State militant group. He was later shot dead after an overnight manhunt by police.

(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout; editing by Mark Heinrich)