Belgium arrests 16, but not fugitive Paris suspect, in anti-terrorism sweep

Early Monday, prosecutors in Brussels announced that Belgian police and military forces had conducted 22 raids around the country on Sunday, arresting 16 people, as the nation continues to be locked down amid warnings of a Paris-style terrorist attack. The raids did not uncover Salah Abdeslam, the only known surviving suspected participant in the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, nor did they find any weapons or explosives, said Eric Van Der Sypt, a federal prosecutor. Nineteen of the raids were in Brussels, which will remain on the highest terrorism alert level through Monday, and the other three were in Charleroi, in southern Belgium.

Police have not seen Abdeslam since he was briefly stopped driving from Paris to Belgium with two friends right after the attack. His two friends have been arrested, and one of them said Abdeslam had been wearing a big coat "with something underneath" that "made him scared," according to the friend's lawyer. On Sunday, Abdeslam's brother, Mohamed Abdeslam, urged his brother to turn himself in. "To answer us," Mohamed Abdeslam said on RTBF television. "For our family, for the family of victims, for all the others. We prefer to see him in prison than in a cemetery."

Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon said Sunday that the threat was greater than just Salah Abdeslam. "We are looking at several things. That is why we are making the big show of power and following everything up by the minute," he told Belgian TV station VRT. "There's no point in hiding it; there is a real threat." A former French intelligence official tells The New York Times that in addition to Abdeslam, Belgium is looking for up to 10 people heavily armed with firearms and explosives. For more information and to see images of Brussels on lockdown, watch the Associated Press video below. Peter Weber

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up