Belgium: 10th suspect arrested in Paris attacks probe

Authorities in the Belgian capital Brussels have chose to cancel the city’s fireworks show on New Year’s Eve amid high alert for possible terrorist attacks.

Separately, prosecutors announced they had arrested a Belgian citizen, identified as Ayoub B., who was charged with terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist organization.

The expected crowd of tens of thousands was judged just too big a risk after the arrest Tuesday of two men suspected of planning a terrorist attack on the New Year’s Eve celebrations, reports CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer.

It also comes less than a week after the ninth suspect involved in the November 13 Paris attacks that killed more than 130 people was arrested in Brussels.

“Together with the interior minister, we’ve made a decision to not have the celebrations on Thursday evening”, Brussels mayor Yvan Mayeur told state broadcaster RTBF. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told a French publication in that France needs its symbolic passage in to the brand new yr, to “send a signal to the world” “cause it continues to get well from the assaults”.

Turkey’s private NTV news channel, quoting security sources, said the two had “frequently” travelled to and from Syria, where Isis holds territory and maintains its stronghold in the city of Raqqa.

Meanwhile, Ilse Van de Keere, the police commissioner for Brussels-Capital, which oversees the center of the city, and is adjacent to the Brussels-West district, said that she would “absolutely not comment about anything that happened on another territory”.

Superintendent Andy Morgan, silver commander for BTP, said: “New Year’s Eve will undoubtedly be one of the busiest nights of the year for the emergency services and we will have officers on the ground at train and Tube stations across London. Alternatively you can see in the New Year at one of the hundreds of other celebrations taking place in restaurants, bars, pubs and clubs across the capital”.

The arrest of two suspects believed to planning New Year’s attacks in Turkey, follows two suicide bombings in October outside Ankara’s main train station as people gathered for a peace rally.

It prompted police across the continent to increase security measures in a bid to prevent a Paris-style copycat attack on an unknown location in Europe.

Mayeur said that the police will be deployed downtown to safeguard the members of the public who want to be out on the streets.

Both suspects are Turkish nationals.