Explosive belt linked to fugitive Paris terrorist Saleh Abdeslam found by
Brussels is keeping its terror alert at the highest level. Authorities tracked Abdeslam’s phone to nearby Châtillon the night of the attacks that killed 130 people and injured 350 others.
(AP Photo/Michael Probst). The entrance of a subway station is closed in Brussels, Belgium, Tuesday, November 24, 2015.
Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP Belgian Army soldiers patrol near Christmas decorations in front of the old Brussels stock exchange Sunday.
Jawad Bendaoud was arrested soon after last week’s massive police raid on the Saint-Denis flat, where Belgian jihadist Abdelhamid Abaaoud and accomplices were killed. Two were released, while police are questioning the other three.
In neighboring France, security officials announced that they had found an explosive vest that was complemented by a detonator. The explosion led to part of the apartment collapsing.
There was no attack on the 18th district.
“What we fear is an attack similar to the one in Paris, with several individuals who could possibly launch several attacks at the same time in multiple locations”, he told a news conference. The raids were also meant to disrupt another possible terrorist attack investigators believe may have been in the works.
Bendaoud acknowledged in a television interview giving shelter to two people from Belgium, but said he did not know who they were or what they planned. The prosecutor differed and said his suspected links with the attackers were being investigated.
Only one fugitive has been publicly named: Salah Abdeslam, who crossed into Belgium the morning after the attacks. An global arrest warrant has also been issued for Abdeslam.
The terrorism threat level for Belgium’s capital will be maintained at the maximum level of 4, though schools and the Brussels subway system will start reopening on Wednesday, Prime Minister Charles Michel said on Monday.
Speaking in Paris on Monday after meeting French President Francois Hollande, Cameron said the two leaders agreed to increase counterterrorism cooperation after the attacks.
Prosecutors on Tuesday charged him with associating with criminals in a terrorist plot and possessing explosives and weapons as part of a terrorist plot, and detained him in custody.
However, he did not specify what the charges were or if they were linked to the attacks.
Abdeslam remains at large.