ABDESALEM Lassoued, a suspected ISIS terrorist, illegally lived in Belgium and was allegedly known to police as a threat to the public and a notorious human trafficker.

The self-proclaimed extremist – who has since been shot by police – is being accused of killing two men in Brussels in a horror rampage last night using a motorcycle and an assault rifle.

A horrifying viral video shared online showed a man in an orange fluorescent jacket pull up on a scooter, take out a large gun and open fire on passersby before chasing them into a building.

The incident happened as thousands of football fans were heading to watch Belgium against Sweden in a Euro 2024 qualifier.

The man was on the run overnight as he tried to escape the police but reports confirmed today that he was shot in a cafe and is believed to be dead.

Who was Abdesalem Lassoued ?

The alleged shooter is from Tunisia and was living in Schaerbeek, Belgium illegally.

He called himself Abdesalem in videos found online after the shooting and is believed to be 45-years-old.

Belgian’s Prime Minister revealed this morning in an emergency press conference that the suspect applied for asylum in 2019, but was told no a year later.

Asylum State Secretary Nicole de Moor went on to say he “disappeared from the radar” after he wasn’t allowed to stay.

The authorities lost track of his whereabouts and in 2021 the Tunisian was ordered to leave Belgium and removed from the state registry.

The man is well known to police for his role in human trafficking and endangering state security.

Minister of Justice Vincent Van Quickenborne also noted that in 2016 they were made aware by reports that he was “ready to fight for jihad” and had been radicalized by terrorist groups.

At the time “dozens of daily reports” were coming into Belgium about potential threats so nothing was done.

He was allegedly convicted of terrorism in Tunisia and showed aggression in Belgium asylum centres.

Quickenborne made it clear that Belgium was told he was convicted of common law acts not terror threats.

The minister said: “There was therefore no imminent terrorist threat detected”

Is Abdesalem Lassoued linked to ISIS?

The suspected killer is thought to have links with ISIS after he made several videos after the murders in Arabic.

Eric Van Duyse, spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office, said there was: “a possible terrorist motivation for the shooting.”

He continued: “During the evening, a claim of responsibility was posted on social media, having been recorded by a person claiming to be the assailant.

“This person claims to be inspired by Islamic State.

“At this time, no element indicates a possible link with the Israeli-Palestinian situation.”

One of the videos show an Arabic-speaking man, believed to be Abdesalem, saying he carried out the brutal attack in the name of God and admitted to killing three people.

According to translations the suspect said: “My name is Abdesalem and I am a fighter for Allah.

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“I am from the Islamic State. We love who loves us and we hate who hates us.

“We live for our religion and we die for our religion.”

Federal Prosecutors said the alleged gunman used the name Slayem Slouma to post a “revenge” message on Facebook before the attack.

He spoke about a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy who was stabbed 26 times in Chicago.

Saying if the boy was white the crime would’ve been called terrorism instead of a brutal crime.

Duyse also noted: “The Swedish nationality of the victims was put forward as the probable motive for the act.”

Many Muslims were angered in 2020 when videos emerged online of Swedes burning the Koran, Islam’s holy book.

Sweden raised its terror level after threats came from jihads promising to get revenge.

What happened during the Brussels terrorist attack?

Two victims – both wearing Sweden football shirts – were killed moments before their team’s Euro 2024 qualifier match against Belgium, while a third was injured.

The viral video shared online shows the alleged man wearing an orange jacket and a white helmet, pull up on a scooter next to a group of fans.

After getting off the scooter, he took out a large rifle and allegedly shot several times in the street before chasing people who had taken cover in the entrance hall of a building.

The injured man, thought to be a taxi driver is okay and in a stable condition.

The first shooting took place at around 7:15pm just 30 minutes before the Sweden vs Belgium match was due to kick off.

All three incidents were thought to have happened within three miles from the King Baudouin Stadium.

After the scary video of the killer gunman prowling around Brussels was seen online by millions the authorities decided to stop the game before the second half.

Fans were barricaded in the stadium until 10:50pm over fears that terrorists were targeting Swedish fans.

The alleged shooter was then at the heart of a manhunt around Brussels for 12 hours after the killings.

This morning, Belgian authorities confirmed cops hunting the man had shot a suspect in a cafe in the Schaerbeek neighbourhood of Brussels.

Reports earlier today by Belgian broadcaster RTBF said the man died in hospital but his identity is yet to be confirmed.

Brussels’s mayor Philippe Close did tell BFM TV: “It seems indeed the suspect has been neutralised.”

Yet authorities are still making sure he is the right person by checking fingerprints on the weapon they recovered last night.