Armed military men stand guard in front of a restaurant in downtown Brussels.(Photo: EPA)
Belgian officials placed<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Brussels<span style="color: Red;">*</span>on the country's highest terror alert Saturday, shutting down all subway lines and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>deploying<span style="color: Red;">*</span>heavily armed troops on the streets because of a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"serious and imminent threat."
The Level 4 terror alert, issued by the Crisis Centre of the Belgian Interior Ministry,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>warned people to avoid places where large groups gather,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>such as concerts, sporting events, airports and train stations, and to be prepared to undergo security checks.
Belgium’s Prime Minister Charles Michel told reporters Saturday that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the alert was raised<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“based on quite precise information about the risk of an attack like the one that happened in Paris,” the Associated Press reported.
He said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>officials fear<span style="color: Red;">*</span>that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“several individuals with arms and explosives could launch an attack ...<span style="color: Red;">*</span>perhaps even in several places.”
The Brussels region, particularly the neighborhood of Molenbeek, is seen as a hotbed of extremists following the terrorist attacks in Paris last week that killed 130 people.
Authorities are particularly worried about<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Salah Abdeslam, 26, who is wanted on an international arrest warrant for his role in the Paris attacks.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Authorities believe that Abdeslam, who is from Molenbeek,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>drove a getaway car<span style="color: Red;">*</span>after the Paris attacks in which his brother, Brahim, blew himself up.
Abdeslam<span style="color: Red;">*</span>crossed the border only hours after the killing spree but before authorities knew of his alleged connection to the plot.
Abdeslam's childhood friend, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, is the suspected ringleader of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the Paris killings.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Abaaoud died this week during a police raid on an<span style="color: Red;">*</span>apartment in a Paris suburb.
In a related development, Turkish authorities said Saturday they had<span style="color: Red;">*</span>detained three people, including<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a 26-year-old Belgian, for<span style="color: Red;">*</span>suspected links<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to Islamic State extremists, AP reported.
The three were identified as<span style="color: Red;">*</span>two Syrians and a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Belgian identified as Ahmet D., according to the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Anadolu news agency. The Belgian was picked up at his hotel<span style="color: Red;">*</span>near the Turkish coastal city of Antalya, and the Syrians were arrested in a car. They were detained<span style="color: Red;">*</span>on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>suspicion of “aiding and abetting” the Islamic State, the news agency said.
The Belgian<span style="color: Red;">*</span>is suspected of scouting some of the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>areas in Paris that were hit by terrorist attacks last week, the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Dogan news agency reported.
Thousands of American<span style="color: Red;">*</span>military personnel and their families<span style="color: Red;">*</span>are stationed in Brussels, which is home NATO's main headquarters. The U.S. Embassy there, which includes a detachment of Marine Corps<span style="color: Red;">*</span>security guards,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>is encouraging all<span style="color: Red;">*</span>American citizens in the city<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to shelter in place and avoid large crowds at all costs.
A message posted on its website cites<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>public transit system, sporting events, clubs, restaurants and hotels as places to avoid.
Contributing: Andrew deGrandpre,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Military Times
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