Belgium arrests 2 people for alleged New Year's terrorism plot

Belgium has arrested 2 over alleged New Year's Eve terrorist attack
(Image credit: Laurie Dieffembacq/AFP/Getty Images)

Belgian police have arrested two people on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack in Brussels on New Year's Eve, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. The two suspects were detained along with four others during house searches in and around Brussels, Liege, and Flemish Brabant on Sunday and Monday, but the other four have been released. The searches turned up military-style clothing, Islamic State propaganda and recruitment material, as well as computer evidence, but no weapons or explosives, the prosecutors said.

"Our investigation revealed serious threats of an attack on symbolic places in Brussels during the celebrations for New Year's Eve," the prosecutor's office said in a statement. The alleged plot is not related to the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, carried out by ISIS-linked assailants with Belgian ties, the prosecutors said. One suspect was charged with leading a terrorist group planning to commit terrorism offenses and terrorism recruitment, while the other suspect was charged with participating in terrorist activities, according to the prosecutor's office.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.