Just after five o’clock on a cold, foggy afternoon in January last year, a car pulled up outside a nondescript three-storey terraced brick house on the Rue de la Colline in the centre of Verviers, a small city southeast of Brussels. Carrying a heavy parcel, a 25-year-old got out, paid the driver and knocked on the door of the ground floor flat.
Waiting for him were two veterans of the war in Syria who had recently returned to Belgium after months overseas. Sofiane Amghar, 26, and Khalid Ben Larbi, 23, had been fighting with Islamic State (IS) and were now planning a series of bombings and shootings at an airport and police stations in Belgium. According to the police, who had wired the flat with microphones and put it under 24-hour surveillance, the man who joined them was responsible for logistics. He was Marouane El Bali, a former security guard who, like the others, had grown up around the Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek. El Bali was warmly greeted. “Hey, I’ve missed you,” said one of the two men. “How are you big guy?” asked the other. Backslapping and laughter followed.
The package El Bali had brought, officials say, contained an AK-47 assault rifle complete with magazines and ready for use. The weapon was one of the final elements the cell needed before launching their attacks, scheduled for the following day.