1st LD Writethru: Identity of man attacking Belgian police confirmed

The man attacking two Belgian police officers on Saturday has been confirmed to be a 33-year-old Algerian who had criminal offense records, according to a press release of the federal prosecution.

The man wounded two female police officers outside a police station with a machete on Saturday afternoon in the city of Charleroi, about 50 km south of the Belgian capital Brussels. The attacker shouted "Allahu Akbar"(God is great) before the attack.

The Islamic State on Sunday claimed responsibility for the attack. However, no terror activities of this man were known to the police.

The man has been living in Belgium illegally since 2012.

The attacker was dead in hospital after shot by the police on Saturday.

One of the two female officers suffered serious injuries and has been hospitalized. Both of them are suffering from artificial coma, the police authorities from Charleroi tweeted.

According to Belgian newspaper Le Soir, the attacker came to a checkpoint of the police station at 3:58 p.m. local time (1358 GMT). He immediately pulled out a machete from his gym bag and struck the head of a police officer on duty.

The man then turned to the other police officer who was injured slightly. The attacker was then shot by a third officer at the checkpoint.

Further police investigation is still underway.

Soon after the attack, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel wrote on his twitter account: "I strongly condemn the attack in Charleroi. Thoughts are with the victims, their relatives and the police. We are monitoring the situation closely."

Belgium is still at security alert level three, the second highest level, since the March 22 bombings at a Brussels airport and a subway station which killed 32 people.

Last week, Belgian police arrested and indicted a terrorist suspect who was alleged to have been plotting an attack in Belgium. Endit