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| Brussels Placed at Highest Alert Level; Subway Is Closed | Brussels Placed at Highest Alert Level; Subway Is Closed |
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| BRUSSELS — Warning of a “serious and imminent” threat of a Paris-style terrorist attack, the authorities in Belgium on Saturday shut down the Brussels subway system, canceled soccer games and advised citizens to avoid public places amid a security lockdown across the Belgian capital. | BRUSSELS — Warning of a “serious and imminent” threat of a Paris-style terrorist attack, the authorities in Belgium on Saturday shut down the Brussels subway system, canceled soccer games and advised citizens to avoid public places amid a security lockdown across the Belgian capital. |
| The United States Embassy in Brussels urged Americans “to shelter in place and remain at home.” A statement on the embassy website on Saturday advised that “if you must go out, avoid large crowds.” | The United States Embassy in Brussels urged Americans “to shelter in place and remain at home.” A statement on the embassy website on Saturday advised that “if you must go out, avoid large crowds.” |
| The security alert followed the discovery of weapons in the home of a Brussels resident arrested in connection with the terrorist attacks in Paris on Nov. 13. The weapons were found on Friday in Molenbeek, the heavily immigrant Brussels borough where at least three of the Paris attackers, all Belgium residents from Moroccan immigrant families, had lived. | The security alert followed the discovery of weapons in the home of a Brussels resident arrested in connection with the terrorist attacks in Paris on Nov. 13. The weapons were found on Friday in Molenbeek, the heavily immigrant Brussels borough where at least three of the Paris attackers, all Belgium residents from Moroccan immigrant families, had lived. |
| The borough has seen a series of police raids over the past week as the authorities have sought to uproot a suspected support network behind the carnage in Paris, in which 130 people were killed. | The borough has seen a series of police raids over the past week as the authorities have sought to uproot a suspected support network behind the carnage in Paris, in which 130 people were killed. |
| Adding to alarm over Belgium’s role as a center of Islamic extremism, the Turkish authorities on Saturday arrested a Belgian national of Moroccan ancestry, described as an Islamic State militant, at a luxury hotel in Antalya, along with two others. They identified the Belgian as Ahmad Dahmani, 26, and said he was trying to illegally cross the border into Syria. | Adding to alarm over Belgium’s role as a center of Islamic extremism, the Turkish authorities on Saturday arrested a Belgian national of Moroccan ancestry, described as an Islamic State militant, at a luxury hotel in Antalya, along with two others. They identified the Belgian as Ahmad Dahmani, 26, and said he was trying to illegally cross the border into Syria. |
| As the Belgian government’s threat analysis unit raised the country’s threat level to 4, the highest possible, for the Brussels region, rumors of heavily armed terrorists in a car and of bomb threats created a mood of deep foreboding in the city, which is home to not only Belgium’s government but also to the headquarters of the European Union and NATO. | |
| Prime Minister Charles Michel said on Saturday that the threat level had been raised because of “information, relatively precise, of a risk of an attack similar to the one that unfolded in Paris.” He said at a news conference that the threat involved “one or more individuals capable of striking a number of sites using weapons and explosives.” | Prime Minister Charles Michel said on Saturday that the threat level had been raised because of “information, relatively precise, of a risk of an attack similar to the one that unfolded in Paris.” He said at a news conference that the threat involved “one or more individuals capable of striking a number of sites using weapons and explosives.” |
| Potential targets included commercial centers, public transport, shopping streets and large public gatherings, Mr. Michel said. “We recommend to the people to respect all safety instructions and to stay informed via official announcements,” he added, advising people to discount a fog of rumors and unconfirmed reports. | Potential targets included commercial centers, public transport, shopping streets and large public gatherings, Mr. Michel said. “We recommend to the people to respect all safety instructions and to stay informed via official announcements,” he added, advising people to discount a fog of rumors and unconfirmed reports. |
| A railway station under the headquarters of the European Union’s executive was sealed off early Saturday and all traffic on the Brussels metro system was stopped. Soldiers with automatic weapons patrolled shopping malls. Several big stores stayed closed. | A railway station under the headquarters of the European Union’s executive was sealed off early Saturday and all traffic on the Brussels metro system was stopped. Soldiers with automatic weapons patrolled shopping malls. Several big stores stayed closed. |
| No incidents had been reported by the end of Saturday. The high alert was to continue through Sunday. | |
| The security measures highlighted fears that Salah Abdeslam, a suspected Paris attacker and Molenbeek resident who is still at large, could be preparing a repeat of the Paris slaughter in Belgium. | The security measures highlighted fears that Salah Abdeslam, a suspected Paris attacker and Molenbeek resident who is still at large, could be preparing a repeat of the Paris slaughter in Belgium. |
| A senior European counterterrorism official said on Saturday that Mr. Abdeslam was believed to be heavily armed with weapons and explosives, and might be seeking to regroup with confederates in Belgium. | |
| “He may be on his last mission,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential intelligence assessments. “He’s up for a hell of an attack.” | |
| Those fears were heightened Saturday after the lawyer for a man who traveled by car with Mr. Abdeslam to Brussels after the Paris attacks suggested that he may have been carrying a bomb. | |
| The lawyer, Carine Couquelet, said her client, Hamza Attouh, told the police that Mr. Abdeslam “seemed to be in a very bad state, very nervous, very anxious.” Mr. Attouh said they did not discuss the attacks, according to the lawyer. But he said he told the police that Mr. Abdeslam was wearing a big jacket “with something underneath.” While he did not know what it was, the lawyer said, the sight of it “made him scared.” | |
| Mr. Abdeslam, whose brother died in Paris when he detonated a suicide vest, was stopped by French police officers on Nov. 14 during a routine traffic check as he drove with two friends back to Brussels a few hours after the Paris attacks. But he was allowed to keep going and has since vanished. His two friends have both been arrested. | Mr. Abdeslam, whose brother died in Paris when he detonated a suicide vest, was stopped by French police officers on Nov. 14 during a routine traffic check as he drove with two friends back to Brussels a few hours after the Paris attacks. But he was allowed to keep going and has since vanished. His two friends have both been arrested. |
| Mr. Abdeslam is now the target of an intensive manhunt and he has managed to avoid arrest. | |
| A police hotline for information about his whereabouts has received hundreds of calls but none have provided the authorities with enough information to establish his whereabouts. The Belgian news media has speculated that he may be dead. | A police hotline for information about his whereabouts has received hundreds of calls but none have provided the authorities with enough information to establish his whereabouts. The Belgian news media has speculated that he may be dead. |
| The Abdeslam brothers both lived in Molenbeek, where they got to know Abdelhamid Abaaoud, an Islamic State militant who is believed to have been the chief planner of the Paris attacks and who died in a police raid just north of the French capital on Wednesday. | The Abdeslam brothers both lived in Molenbeek, where they got to know Abdelhamid Abaaoud, an Islamic State militant who is believed to have been the chief planner of the Paris attacks and who died in a police raid just north of the French capital on Wednesday. |
| The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office said on Saturday that the search of the Molenbeek residence of an unnamed man arrested on Thursday in another Brussels district had uncovered weapons, but no explosives. The arrested person has been charged with “participation in terrorist attacks and participation in the activities of a terrorist organization,” a federal magistrate, Eric Van der Sijpt, said. | The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office said on Saturday that the search of the Molenbeek residence of an unnamed man arrested on Thursday in another Brussels district had uncovered weapons, but no explosives. The arrested person has been charged with “participation in terrorist attacks and participation in the activities of a terrorist organization,” a federal magistrate, Eric Van der Sijpt, said. |
| Mr. Sijpt declined to name the person, but several Belgian newspapers described him as a 39-year-old Moroccan, and said he gave help to Salah Abdeslam after the Paris attacks and has a brother who is fighting in Syria. | Mr. Sijpt declined to name the person, but several Belgian newspapers described him as a 39-year-old Moroccan, and said he gave help to Salah Abdeslam after the Paris attacks and has a brother who is fighting in Syria. |
| More than 500 Belgians have left to fight for the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, making Belgium the biggest per capita contributor of foreign fighters. | More than 500 Belgians have left to fight for the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, making Belgium the biggest per capita contributor of foreign fighters. |
| Mr. Dahmani, the Belgian national arrested in Turkey on his way to Syria, is suspected of having been “in contact with the terrorists who perpetrated the Paris attacks,” said a Turkish official who spoke on condition of anonymity, in line with government protocol. | Mr. Dahmani, the Belgian national arrested in Turkey on his way to Syria, is suspected of having been “in contact with the terrorists who perpetrated the Paris attacks,” said a Turkish official who spoke on condition of anonymity, in line with government protocol. |
| He arrived in Turkey from Amsterdam on Nov. 14 — the day after the Paris attacks. “There is no record of the Belgian authorities having warned Turkey about Dahmani — which is why there was no entry ban,” the official said, adding, “Had the Belgian authorities alerted us in due time, Dahmani could have been apprehended at the airport.” | He arrived in Turkey from Amsterdam on Nov. 14 — the day after the Paris attacks. “There is no record of the Belgian authorities having warned Turkey about Dahmani — which is why there was no entry ban,” the official said, adding, “Had the Belgian authorities alerted us in due time, Dahmani could have been apprehended at the airport.” |
| The storming on Friday of a hotel in Bamako, Mali, added to the anxieties in Belgium. Six Belgians were held hostage in the hotel, of whom four were released and two were killed, Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said on Saturday. | The storming on Friday of a hotel in Bamako, Mali, added to the anxieties in Belgium. Six Belgians were held hostage in the hotel, of whom four were released and two were killed, Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said on Saturday. |