UPDATED: Arrests in Belgium over suspected terrorist plot

Police in Belgium arrested seven people today on suspicion they were preparing a “terrorist attack,” federal prosecutors say, adding that 14 raids were conducted nationwide.

The house searches took place in the Belgian cities of Antwerp, Liege, and Ghent, among others, and in the Brussels region.

A spokesman for the prosecutors’ service says there is no evidence at this stage of any link to the 2024 Paris Olympics, whose opening ceremony takes place tomorrow under unprecedented security.

There are “no details at this time as to the locations or targets but what was found leads us to believe an attack was being prepared,” the spokesman, Arnaud d’Oultremont, tells AFP.

The suspects arrested were to appear in court today before the anti-terrorist judge who ordered the raids to determine whether they would remain in custody or not, the prosecution service says in a statement.

It said all of them “are suspected of participation in a terrorist group’s activities, financing of terrorism and preparation of a terrorist attack.”

Via AFP