Man Taken Into Custody in Brussels After Security Alert
Belgian police and Belgian Army soldiers guard at the scene of a bomb alert on a major shopping street in Brussels on June 21, 2016.
The Brussels prosecutor says no explosives were found on a man arrested in an anti-terrorism operation in the centre of the Belgian capital.
The incident began at about 1000 IST this morning after a report of a man acting suspiciously near the City 2 shopping centre triggered a bomb alert, broadcaster RTL reported. He added that security services “remain extremely vigilant”. Belgium’s Standaard newspaper, quoting Brussels police spokeswoman Ilse Van de Keere, said that a man had called police threatening to blow himself up outside the mall. Prosecutors said he had a criminal record and a history of psychiatric problems.
Some entrances to a nearby metro station were also blocked off. The man carried a document with an emblem of the Islamic State group, but his family in Tunisia insisted he was no extremist.
Belgium’s Crisis Centre, which oversees security measures, convened with Prime Minister Charles Michel and Interior Minister Jan Jambon present to discuss Tuesday’s incident.
Officials had arrested three people, charging them with attempted terrorist murders on the suspicion they were plotting to attack people watching the Belgian soccer game on Saturday in public places. A Brussels subway was one of two targets in the March 22 attacks on the city.
The shopping centre was closed and police in hoods and military personnel were seen patrolling the area after the 6.30am alert. Numerous suspects involved in the Paris attacks grew up and lived in Molenbeek, including terror mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Abdeslam brothers, and Mohamed Abrini, who was also involved in the Brussels attacks.
In proportion to its population, Belgium has the highest number in the European Union of so-called foreign fighters, an estimated 500, who have travelled to wage militancy in Syria and Iraq.