Two Workers at Belgian Nuclear Plants Left the Country to Join ISIS in 2012

Belgium’s nuclear power plants have been in the spotlight for the past week. A security guard for one of the plants was murdered, and earlier this year it was discovered that ISIS was spying on the country’s nuclear program director, gathering information for a possible attack.

Cooling towers of Belgium's Doel nuclear plant on Jan. 21, 2016. Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

Belgium’s nuclear power plants have been in the spotlight for the past week. A security guard at one of the plants was murdered, and earlier this year it was discovered that ISIS was spying on the country’s nuclear program director, gathering information for a possible attack. 

But their troubles begin even earlier than that. In 2012, two employees at the Doel nuclear power plant had fled to Syria to join ISIS, the New York Times reports. 

A spokesperson for the nuclear agency said that the November 2014 incident was a deliberate act of sabotage.