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UP FRONTWednesday 30 December
At Press Time:
Belgian officials arrest 2 suspected of plotting attacks
JOHN DAHLBURG security services cited by Belgian soldiers patrol as tourists visit the Grand Place in Brussels on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015. Two
Associated Press RTBF French-language tele- people have been arrested in Belgium on suspicion of planning attacks in Brussels during the
BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian vision. Those lethal actions holidays, the federal prosecutor’s office said Tuesday. A source close to the investigation said the
authorities announced were claimed by the Islam- Belgian capital’s main square, thronged this time of year with holiday shoppers and strollers, was
Tuesday they have arrest- ic State extremist group. one of the suspected targets.
ed two men and seized The two suspects were ar-
military-type uniforms and rested following searches (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Islamic State group pro- Sunday and Monday in the
paganda in connection Brussels area, the eastern
with a suspected plot to Liege region and Flemish
unleash holiday season at- Brabant, the Belgian Fed-
tacks against police, sol- eral Prosecutor’s Office
diers and celebrated loca- said in a statement. It did
tions in Brussels. not disclose their names or
The attacks under prepa- further information about
ration “were the same them. During the searches,
style as those perpetrated no weapons or explosives
in Paris Nov. 13,” in which were found, but military-
130 people were killed and type training uniforms, IS
hundreds injured by suicide propaganda material and
bombers and gunmen computer equipment were
equipped with Kalash- impounded and are being
nikov-style assault rifles, ac- examined, the prosecu-
cording to an internal doc- tor’s office said. It said the
ument from Belgian state case was unrelated to the
brazen and bloody extrem- beefed up in Brussels fol-
ist actions in Paris a month lowing the Paris attacks,
and a half ago but that and Ramacker said a new
the investigation, which is official threat assessment
still ongoing, has revealed conducted Monday after
a “threat of serious attacks the searches and arrests,
that would target several concluded officers and
emblematic places in Brus- troops deployed to protect
sels and be committed Brussels have become tar-
during the end-of-year holi- gets of choice themselves.
days.” “And so we prefer to re-
The prosecutor’s office mind them of certain safe-
gave no more details ty guidelines, so that they
about the intended tar- reinforce their own secu-
gets, but an official close rity and all goes well,” Ra-
to the investigation told macker said in an interview
The Associated Press that at Crisis Center headquar-
they included the Belgian ters. He and other govern-
capital’s cobblestoned ment officials declined to
main square, thronged be- provide specifics, but Bel-
tween Christmas and New gian media reported that
Year’s with shoppers and police officers in the six
strollers, as well as a police police zones of Brussels will
headquarters in an adja- no longer be allowed to
cent street. “On the Grand leave their stations alone
Place, there are a lot of or without their firearm,
people, as well as soldiers and that police stations in
and police who are patrol- most neighborhoods will
ling, as well as a police sta- shut their doors at 8 p.m.
tion nearby,” said the offi- instead of remaining open
cial, who spoke on condi- around the clock.
tion of anonymity because In January, Belgian anti-ter-
he was not authorized by rorism units broke up what
the judge leading the in- they said was an imminent
vestigation to make public attack on police by raiding
statements. a house in the eastern city
As of Tuesday, police and of Verviers, killing two sus-
soldiers in Brussels are be- pected jihadis and arrest-
ing ordered to take spe- ing a third. Their main quar-
cial precautions to ensure ry, however, was not there:
their own safety, Benoit Ra- Abdelhamid Abaaoud,
macker, spokesman for the who went on to become
Belgian government’s Crisis the suspected ringleader
Center, said. Police and of the Nov. 13 attacks in
army patrols were greatly Paris.q
