Belgium arrests 2 linked to New Year’s plot to attack Brussels

In a series of raids on Sunday and Monday around Brussels, the surrounding Flemish-speaking region of Brabant, and the city of Liège, authorities found Islamic State propaganda and military-style hardware and computer equipment in the homes of the two suspects.

Investigators say they believe the two suspects “were possibly planning” and “had the intention to carry out” terrorist attacks on Brussels’ city center “in the same style” as the coordinated series of attacks in Paris on Nov. 13, a spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office said.

Authorities said they had found evidence of “serious threats” to multiple locations in Brussels, including police headquarters for the city center and the nearby central square known as the Grand Place or Grote Markt.

Brussels’ alert level was raised to the highest possible for several days after the November attacks in Paris, which killed 130 people and were carried out mainly by attackers who had connections to Belgium.

The national crisis center, which sets the alert level based on its analysis of potential threats, said Tuesday that the authorities believed that police officers and soldiers in Brussels might be “specifically targeted” for attack.