The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office announced on Thursday the arrest in the Flemish Region (north) of seven (7) people suspected of preparing an attack in Belgium.
A press release from the prosecution specifies that a total of nine searches were carried out, in particular in Roeselare, Menin, Ostend, Wevelgem and Ghent, in the provinces of East Flanders and West Flanders.
The suspects did not yet have a specific target for their attack, but were actively looking for weapons, he said, noting that these individuals are “mostly of Chechen origin”, and “suspected of preparing a terrorist attack in Belgium “.
The suspects, three of whom “also have Belgian nationality”, “belong to a group of fervent supporters of the Islamic State (IS) group”, adds the prosecution.
The police operation, carried out with the reinforcement of special units of the federal police, is part of an investigation led by an anti-terrorism judge from West Flanders, who could decide to place the suspects in preventive detention after their hearing. .
Following these searches, the general level of the threat in Belgium is maintained at level 2 on a scale of 4, which means that the threat is considered medium, indicated the Coordinating body for the analysis of the threat in Belgium (Ocam).