Two held in Belgium over ‘ISIS plot to cause New Year carnage’

Two people suspected of plotting militant attacks in Brussels on New Year’s Eve have been arrested, prosecutors in Belgium have revealed. The arrests were part of an anti-terrorist operation across the city and the neighbouring Brabant region as well as in the Liege area on Sunday and Monday. Six people were initially questioned after house searches but four of them were released, prosecutors said. The searches were not linked to the November Paris attacks in which 130 people were killed.

Our investigation revealed serious threats of an attack on symbolic places in Brussels during the celebrations for New Year’s Eve.

Belgium prosecutors’ statement

Police found military clothing and Islamic State propaganda and computer material which investigators are examining, but no weapons or explosives. The two held were accused of terror threats and participation in terrorist activity, with one of them allegedly “in the role of a leader and involved in recruiting”. Initial reports said they were aiming to hit symbolic targets in Brussels as well as police. Two of the Paris suicide bombers, Brahim Abdeslam and Bilal Hadfi, had been living in Belgium. Brahim’s brother, Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the attacks on November 13, had fled to Belgium afterwards and remains on the run.