Late night counter-terrorism raids in Belgium have led to 12 arrests in an operation that the federal prosecutor’s office said needed immediate intervention.
The security raids took place in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia with 40 people being questioned. The action comes as security concerns hover over Europe with Euro 2016 currently underway. Public broadcaster VTM reports that the dozen arrested were suspected of an attack in Brussels that would occur during today’s Euro 2016 showdown between Belgium and Ireland. The game, which was played in host country France, was slated for broadcast at a large fan gathering in the central portion of the city. According to RTBF, terror suspects were seen driving near the area on Friday.
“It is not over. We remain under terror alert 3, it means that something is still up,” said Interior Minister Jan Jambon in a report from the Associated Press. Jambon is one of four senior Belgian ministers that are under special protection due to unspecified threats. Earlier this week, Belgian and French police received an alert that extremists from Syria may be heading to both countries for the purposes of staging attacks.
This recent collection of arrests comes with Belgium just under three months removed from March’s devastating terror attack in Brussels.
(via Forbes, Al Jazeera & BBC)