Belgium Places Brussels On Lockdown After A Credible Threat Of A Paris-Style Terror Attack

Belgium has been on alert since Friday after word hit regarding a credible threat of a terrorist attack similar to the one that struck Paris, France, on Friday the 13th. The threat is apparently so serious, the nation shut down the metro system, closed several public venues like shopping malls, and canceled events planned to be held on Saturday. According to Bloomberg, the hint of anything similar to the Paris attacks is enough to provoke this reaction:

“We have precise information that outlines the risk of an attack similar to the one that unfolded in Paris,” Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel told a press conference Saturday morning in Brussels. “It is a threat based on the theory that it would take place with arms and explosives, maybe even in several places and at the same time.”

The Belgian capital, which houses most of the institutions of the European Union and NATO, has been on alert since it emerged that at least three jidhadists behind the Paris terrorist attacks had lived in the city. Salah Abdeslam, one of two brothers believed to have been involved and now the focus of an international manhunt, comes from the Brussels district of Molenbeek.

Officials are also asking that people avoid places where groups usually gather as part of the heightened state of alert, including train stations and airports.

All of this comes on the heels of the Mali terror attack that left at least 21 dead after Jihadists stormed a luxury hotel and opened fire. It also follows the extra scrutiny placed on the country following the revelation that many of the terrorists involved in the Paris attacks were hailing from Belgium, a connection that still carries a lot of mystery according to CNN:

Salah Abdeslam, 26, is the subject of an international search warrant. He was last seen driving toward the Belgian border when police stopped and questioned him a few hours after the attacks, not knowing that he was allegedly involved. His whereabouts are unknown…

That’s one of several connections between this latest attack and Belgium, a country seen as fertile ground for jihadist recruiters. It’s where members of a suspected terror cell waged a deadly gun battle in January with police and where three Americans in August overpowered a radical Islamist gunman on a Paris-bound train.

It was also home to suspected ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud. He was killed during a dramatic raid that shook the Saint-Denis neighborhood outside Paris and collapsed an entire floor of an apartment building.

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Raids around Belgium resulted in the detention of at least nine suspects related to extremists operating within the country, all showing a tougher focus by those being criticized in the nation. With the rest of the nation on a lower, but still severe terror alert, it only leaves time to see if anything will happen. Nations with citizens within Belgium have also sent warnings, including the United States and Canada. We’ll keep you updated if anything changes with the situation.

(Via Bloomberg / CNN)