Brussels: 7 arrests during an anti-terrorist operation

Brussels: 7 arrests during an anti-terrorist operation

Brussels (AFP) - The Belgian judicial police on Wednesday conducted eight searches in the Brussels region as part of an anti-terrorist operation that resulted in seven arrests, the Belgian federal prosecutor said in a statement.

The searches carried out in Laeken, Anderlecht, Molenbeek and Schaerbeek are not related to the jihadist attacks in Paris in November 2015 (130 deaths) or Brussels in March 2016 (32 deaths) claimed by the Islamic State organization.

But they are part of an ongoing investigation linked to "the problematic of fighters eventually returning from Syria," according to the statement of the federal prosecutor.

"In total, seven people were taken for hearing," he added.

The investigating judge will decide in the course of the day whether they will be detained.

"No weapons or explosives have been found", also specifies the federal prosecutor, competent for the files of terrorism in Belgium.

Belgium is the EU country that provides the largest number of jihadists in Iraq and Syria in proportion to its population, with an estimated 465 combatants.

Since the killings in Paris and Brussels, Belgium has reinforced security measures and increased police operations and raids as investigations continued.

Source: newspaper Brussels