Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Belgian police carried out security raids on Monday evening and arrested eight people, as part of two separate investigations into terrorism. Five of them allegedly planned to carry out a terrorist attack in Belgium, reports RTBF. The Federal Prosecutor's Office confirmed the news on Tuesday.
According to what was reported by the Belgian news agency today, Tuesday, the Antwerp police "in the north of the country" conducted five searches on Monday evening in Merxim, Buergerhout, Durna, Sint-Jans-Molenbeek "in Brussels" and Eupen, according to the Federal Prosecutor's Office. The results of these searches were not made public, but five people were taken for interrogation.
The Public Prosecutor's Office said: "The investigative judge will decide later whether to be brought before them and may issue an arrest warrant." "At least two of those involved are suspected of preparing to carry out a terrorist attack in Belgium. The target has not been determined yet," he added.
The Federal Prosecutor's Office said that in a different case, Brussels police conducted three searches in neighborhoods in and near Brussels, namely Zaventem, Sint-Jans-Molenbeek and Schaerbeek. In this file, three persons were deprived of their liberty and taken for questioning.
Here too, the examining magistrate will decide later whether to bring them before her and issue an arrest warrant. These persons are also suspected of preparing to commit a terrorist attack in Belgium.”
"There are links between the two cases, but further investigation should reveal the extent to which the two groups are intertwined," the Federal Prosecutor's Office added.
This comes in conjunction with the anniversary of the Brussels bombings that took place in March 2016 and included Zaventem airport and one of the internal train stations in the capital. The attacks resulted in the killing of 32 people and wounding more than 300 others.