Liege killings treated as '˜terrorist murders'

The attacks in the Belgian city of Liege which left three people dead are being considered 'terrorist murders', and the investigation now centres on whether the attacker acted alone, a Belgian federal magistrate said.

Belgian Special Police at the scene of a shooting in Liege. Picture: AP

The attacker, identified as Benjamin Herman, shouted “Allahu akbar,” the Arabic phrase for “God is great”, several times during spree before he was shot down by a group of police officers, magistrate Wenke Roggen said.

Ms Roggeen said the attack is being treated as terrorism given the way Herman acted, which she said resembled Islamic State calls to attack police with knives and steal their weapons.

Allied to this is the fact that he yelled “Allahu Akbar”, and had been in contact with radicalised people.

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The attacker killed two female police officers by stabbing them from behind, stealing their service weapons and shooting them. He also killed a passer-by in a car before being shot dead by police.

It has also emerged the man had already killed another person the day before the attack.

Belgium’s interior minister Jan Jambon told broadcaster RTL that the gunman “also committed a murder the night before”.

Mr Jambon confirmed that the person was a former inmate who did prison time with Herman.

Herman is alleged to have killed the man on Monday evening by hitting him over the head with a blunt object.