Brussels terror threat: City raises alert to highest level after warning of 'serious and immediate threat'
Armed police and soldiers have been deployed in the Belgian capital and residents have been advised to avoid public transport routes
Brussels raised its terrorism alert to the highest level, indicating a 'serious and immediate threat' Getty
Brussels has raised its terrorism alert to its highest level, suspending its underground and deploying armed security forces to patrol the city.
The government's crisis centre raised the alert to 'Level Four', indicating a "serious and immediate threat", amid a reports that police had found a cache of weapons and ammunition during a raid on an apartment in Molenbeek, the poor suburb of Brussels that was home to the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks that killed 130 people.
The Belgian Federal Prosecutor's office later confirmed the discovery in the home of one of three people arrested in Belgium in connection with the Paris attacks.
In a written statement the office said no explosives or suicide bomb belt had been found in the search. The Belgian paper Dernière Heure reported that chemicals had also been found in a raid in Molenbeek, but this was not confirmed by the prosecutor.
Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel said the terror alert had been raised "based on quite precise information about the risk of an attack like the one that happened in Paris".
He told a news conference on Saturday morning that it was feared "several individuals with arms and explosives could launch an attack ... perhaps even in several places".
"We urge the public not to give in to panic, to stay calm. We have taken the measures that are necessary," he said.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/paris-attacks-brussels-raises-terrorism-alert-to-highest-level-warning-of-serious-and-immediate-a6743076.html
| Saturday , November 21 , 2015 |
Belgium on high alert, metro shut down |
| Brussels, Nov. 21 (Reuters): Belgium raised the alert status for its capital Brussels to the highest level on Saturday, shutting the metro and warning the public to avoid crowds because of a “serious and imminent” threat of an attack. A week after the Paris attacks carried out by Islamic State militants, of whom one suspect from Brussels is at large and said by authorities to be highly dangerous, the city was placed on the top level “four” in the government's threat scale after a meeting of top ministers, police and security services. ”The advice for the population is to avoid places where a lot of people come together like shopping centres, concerts, events or public transport stations wherever possible,” a spokesman for the government's crisis centre said. He declined to say what specifically prompted the new alert. A statement on the centre's website said it had recommended closing the underground rail network until Sunday and the municipal transport authority tweeted that stations on the four main metro lines were closed “by order of the police”. The crisis centre website said it was calling on local authorities to cancel large events, urge people to avoid crowds, postpone soccer matches, close the Brussels metro for the weekend and stepping up the military and police presence. Suspected militant Salah Abdeslam, 26, returned home to Brussels from Paris after the attacks, when his elder brother Brahim blew himself up at a cafe. The alert level for the whole country was raised following the Paris attacks to level three out of four, implying a ”possible or probable” threat. Previously, only certain sites, such as the US embassy, were at level three. Belgium, and its capital in particular, have been at the centre of investigations into the Paris attacks - which included suicide bombers targeting a France-Germany soccer match - after the links to Brussels emerged. Three people detained in Brussels are facing terrorism charges. | Saturday , November 21 , 2015 | |