Following the anti-terrorist operations, the Belgian police arrested eight people, two of them in Antwerp on suspicion of preparing and planning a terrorist attack on Belgian territory.
Two anti-terrorist operations by the Belgian police resulted, on Monday night, with the arrest of eight suspects, five in Antwerp (in the Flanders region) and three in the capital, the Belgian authorities announced Tuesday.
According to a press release from the US attorney’s office, at least two of the people arrested in Antwerp (50 km north of Brussels) are suspected of preparing a terrorist attack on Belgian territory.
In Brussels, in a second operation, three other suspects were arrested – under the same accusation – after raids in the municipalities of Zaventem (on the outskirts of the capital), Molenbeek and Schaerbeek. The federal prosecutor’s office said there were connections between the two cases and sent clarifications for later.
The Belgian capital was the target of two terrorist attacks seven years agoclaimed by the Islamic State group, which left 32 dead and hundreds injured.
On March 22, 2016, two bombs exploded in the departure area of the Brussels International Airport (in Zaventem) at 8:00 a.m. (7:00 a.m. Lisbon time), followed by another suicide bombing at the metro station from Maelbeek.
In Brussels, the trial of the ten accused of involvement in these attacks takes place.
Source: Observadora
