Paris suspect eludes Belgium police as lockdown continues in Brussels

A street cleaner in Montrouge, south of the 14th Arrondissement, discovered the belt without a detonator in a pile of trash, three police officials said.

Belgian police launched more raids in Brussels and beyond early Monday, detaining five more people as they continued their hunt for a fugitive suspect in the Paris attacks.

He was stopped by police in northern France after the attack, but allowed to continue his journey to Belgium.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said on Monday Brussels will remain under the highest level of alert for another week, due to an ongoing terrorism threat.

The discovery of the vest in a Paris suburb came as Belgium’s prime minister cited a “serious and imminent” threat justifying keeping the highest alert level operational for at least another week. Police sources said the belt appeared to have “the same configuration” as those used by the suicide bombers who carried out the attacks.

The raids are aimed at shutting down a terrorist network which is suspected of planning an attack similar to the one which left 130 people dead in Paris 10 days ago, according to CNN. The government is doing “everything in our power to keep the situation under control” and will review things each day. Seventeen of those detained were released without charges and three remain in custody for questioning, the prosecutor’s office said.

Belgian authorities have charged a fourth person in connection with the bloodshed in Paris, which was claimed by the Islamic State group.

Over the course of the lockdown, a large-scale manhunt has been underway for Belgian national Salah Abdeslam, considered a key player in the Paris attacks that killed 129 people. People were warned to avoid large gatherings while soldiers and police were out in force patrolling the streets. The city’s schools and subway will be closed for Tuesday before gradually re-opening on Wednesday, Michel said.

NATO, which had raised its alert level since the Paris attacks of Nov 13, said its headquarters in the city were open, but some staff had been asked to work from home and external visits had been cancelled.

After seeing Mr Cameron on Monday, Mr Hollande will meet US President Barack Obama in Washington on Tuesday and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris on Wednesday.

On Monday, Belgian officials said that police carried out five more raids in Brussels and Liege leading to five further detentions, France 24 reported.

France’s defence ministry said it had launched its first air strikes from the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, bombing IS targets in the Iraqi cities of Ramadi and Mosul in a seven-hour operation.