Brussels on lockdown over threat of ‘imminent’ Isis attack - live
Here is the the latest on the international response to “imminent†threats from Islamic State extremists, with Brussels quickly becoming the focus of the most recent developments:
The Belgium capital is on lockdown, with soldiers in the streets, shopping centres closed and sporting events and concerts cancelled after the city’s terror alert was raised to its highest possible level.
The country’s prime minister, Charles Michel, said the decision to raise the alert was taken “based on quite precise information about the risk of an attack like the one that happened in Paris.â€
Locals were told to avoid gatherings, train stations, airports and commercial districts. Service was halted on the Brussels Metro, as well as on tram lines running underground.
An arsenal of weapons was discovered on Friday night by officers searching the home of a terror suspect in Molenbeek, the run-down suburb where Paris attacker Abdelhamid Abaaoud was suspected of operating a terrorist cell.
A tweet from Brussels shows armoured personnel carriers in the streets of the city, which is home to many European institutions as well as the headquarters of NATO.
An eyewitness says the city looks like a military base.
Update
Terrorist arsenal found in Brussels suburb
A terrorist arsenal has been discovered during overnight searches in a suburb of Brussels, Belgian paper Dernière Heure reports.
Chemicals and explosives were among the items found in the Molenbeek suburb, a rundown neighbourhood where Paris attacker Abdelhamid Abaaoud was suspected of operating a terrorist cell.
The find came as Belgium’s capital entered a security lockdown. The government has warned that there could be a repeat of Paris-style attacks in the country’s capital, prompting the closure of subways in Brussels and the deployment of heavily armed police and soldiers.
At least one Paris attacker, Salah Abdeslam, crossed into Belgium the morning after the attacks which killed 130 last week. A Paris police official and the Paris prosecutor’s office said Saturday they had no firm information on Abdeslam’s whereabouts, including whether he was in the Brussels area.
Prime Minister Charles Michel said the decision to raise the threat level was taken “based on quite precise information about the risk of an attack like the one that happened in Paris ... where several individuals with arms and explosives launch actions, perhaps even in several places at the same time.â€
Belgium’s national Crisis Center raised its terrorism alert for the Brussels region to Level 4, which indicates a “serious and immediate threat.†Belgium’s special security Cabinet held an emergency meeting Saturday morning.
Heavily armed police and soldiers patrolled Saturday morning at key intersections of the Belgian capital, a city of more than 1 million that is home to the headquarters of the European Union, the NATO alliance and offices of many multinational corporations.
Locals were told to avoid gatherings, train stations, airports and commercial districts. Service was halted on the Brussels Metro, as well as on streetcar lines that run underground.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/nov/21/paris-attacks-three-suspects-including-alleged-scout-arrested-in-turkey-live
I am unaware that there are ANY EXTREMISTS in ISIS.
Just ordinary Muslims exactly like that religion has fostered for a millennium and a half.
Under the Koran, all of this is simple obedience to the teachings of Mohammed.
When George Bush spouted that stupid “religion of peace” crap after the September eleventh attacks those of us who had lived in the middle east and fought in their wars were patient with people who didn’t know better.
Patience is over. Idiots who refuse to acknowledge the fundamental violence of Islam have to be called out and mocked now. Because they are too damned stupid to learn any other way.
Suspect on the loose has ‘been in contact with friends’
Salah Abdeslam has reportedly been in touch with friends on Skype, telling them he is hiding in the Brussels area and asking them for help in getting back to Syria.
The friends, who have spoken anonymously to ABC News, said that Abdeslam had called them on Tuesday evening and told them he was caught between the extensive police search and local Islamic State members who were “watching himâ€, apparently unhappy that he had failed to detonate his suicide vest after the attacks in Paris.
According to ABC’s report:
Abdeslam insisted he played only a minor role in the attacks, but his friends said they doubted his claim of innocence. His brother told ABC News that Abdeslam was “manipulated†by the attack mastermind, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, killed in a police raid Thursday in France. Abaaoud and Abdeslam were childhood friends and were arrested when caught in a robbery in 2010, according to an Abaaoud family attorney.
The claims appear to chime with a statement made earlier today by a lawyer for Hamza Attou, one of two suspects charged this week by Belgian authorities for allegedly helping Abdeslam return to the country after the attacks.