Posted on 11/21/2015 4:36:32 AM PST by EBH
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel declined to give the reason why the authorities raised the alert level but told a news conference the government would review the security situation on Sunday afternoon.
The metro system would remain closed until then, in line with the recommendation of the crisis center, he said.
The crisis center website said it was calling on local authorities to cancel large events, urge people to avoid crowds, postpone soccer matches, close the Brussels metro for the weekend and stepping up the military and police presence.
Suspected militant Salah Abdeslam, 26, returned home to Brussels from Paris after the attacks, when his elder brother Brahim blew himself up at a cafe.
Fears of the risk he still poses prompted the cancellation last week of an international friendly soccer match in Brussels against Spain. The crisis center said weekend games in the top two professional divisions should now be postponed.
The alert level for the whole country was raised following the Paris attacks to level three out of four, implying a "possible or probable" threat. Previously, only certain sites, such as the U.S. embassy, were at level three.
Belgium, and its capital in particular, have been at the center of investigations into the Paris attacks - which included suicide bombers targeting a France-Germany soccer match - after the links to Brussels emerged. Three people detained in Brussels are facing terrorism charges.
French authorities have said the attacks were planned in Brussels by a local man, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 28, who fought for Islamic State in Syria and was killed in the siege of an apartment in the Paris suburb of St. Denis on Wednesday.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
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
Aint assimilation grand.
This is some serious stuff! I will say I am scared for them too!
But, in many, many ways when I think about our own governments response to the Boston bombing...we didn’t go far enough to find all parts of the “cell” of the brothers.
Belgium is by far the biggest problem in Europe. The Muslims have a stronger hold there than anywhere else in Europe.
I watch the show Vice, which I know some here would hate, and they did a piece on this last year that was terrifying.
Yes, I think I would agree with you. Just saw a factoid that 25% of the population is muslim.
Armoured vehicles and heavily armed police and soldiers patrolled key landmarks, intersections and subways in the Belgian capital today. The city was unusually quiet in the face of a government security alert. (BBC)
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.
“I said we have the Amish contained”.
I would suspect there’s also some fear that these groups have gotten their hands on some chemical weapons and managed to smuggle in enough to do damage. The goal of ISIS in many of its attacks was to capture chemical weapons stocks or at least the raw ingredients.
I read an article yesterday (I don’t even recall in what source) that discussed the significant problem we would have if these jihadis managed to get chemical weapons. It didn’t mention Belgium specifically, but I wonder if they found something like that when they search the dead jihad’s house that may have led to this alert.
Real History Of The Crusades,The
08/09/2014 1:09:08 PM PDT · by EBH · 60 replies
Catholic Culture ^ | Thomas F. Madden
As a Crusade historian, I found the tranquil solitude of the ivory tower shattered by journalists, editors, and talk-show hosts on tight deadlines eager to get the real scoop. What were the Crusades?, they asked. When were they? Just how insensitive was President George W. Bush for using the word “crusade” in his remarks? With a few of my callers I had the distinct impression that they already knew the answers to their questions, or at least thought they did. What they really wanted was an expert to say it all back to them. For example, I was frequently asked...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3190925/posts
Chemicals and explosives were among the items found in the Molenbeek suburb,
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