30 Jul 2016

Belgium arrests brothers over planned attacks

11:37 pm on 30 July 2016

Two brothers suspected of planning attacks have been arrested in Belgium in an anti-terror operation, prosecutors say.

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Photo: AFP

The two men, named as Nourredine H, 33, and his brother Hamza were detained after house searches in the Mons region and the city of Liege.

No weapons or explosives were found in the searches.

Belgium is still on high alert since 32 people died in bombings at Brussels airport and a metro station in March.

Many more people were injured in the attacks, which were claimed by so-called Islamic State.

"Based on provisional results from the investigation, it appears that there were plans to carry out attacks in Belgium," the federal prosecutor's office said of the latest arrests in a statement.

But the statement added that as yet no link had been found to the Brussels bombings.

A judge would decide on Saturday whether to keep the suspects in detention, it said.

Belgium is currently on security alert level three out of four, indicating a "possible and probable" threat.

Security was boosted in the run-up to Belgium's national holiday on 21 July, amid fears of something similar to the lorry attack in the French city of Nice on 14 July, Bastille Day.

- BBC