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| Belgium arrests two over 'New Year plot' | Belgium arrests two over 'New Year plot' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Belgian police have arrested two people suspected of planning attacks in Brussels on New Year's Eve. | Belgian police have arrested two people suspected of planning attacks in Brussels on New Year's Eve. |
| Raids took place on Sunday and Monday in Brussels and the provinces of Flemish Brabant and Liege. | Raids took place on Sunday and Monday in Brussels and the provinces of Flemish Brabant and Liege. |
| Police seized military clothing and computer equipment in the raids, but no weapons or explosives. | |
| Belgium has been on high alert since the attacks of 13 November in Paris. Several of the perpetrators are thought to have been based in Belgium. | Belgium has been on high alert since the attacks of 13 November in Paris. Several of the perpetrators are thought to have been based in Belgium. |
| However, the latest arrests are not linked to the Paris attacks, prosecutors say. | However, the latest arrests are not linked to the Paris attacks, prosecutors say. |
| One of those arrested is suspected of leading and recruiting for a terrorist cell. | One of those arrested is suspected of leading and recruiting for a terrorist cell. |
| The suspects are accused of planning attacks against several "symbolic targets" in Brussels, as well as on the police, according to the Belgian broadcaster RTBF. | The suspects are accused of planning attacks against several "symbolic targets" in Brussels, as well as on the police, according to the Belgian broadcaster RTBF. |
| Propaganda for the so-called Islamic State group was among the materials seized. | Propaganda for the so-called Islamic State group was among the materials seized. |
| Another four people were questioned in the raids and released without charge. | |
| In November Brussels was placed under a four-day lockdown closing universities, schools and the metro system, amid fears of a Paris-style attack. | In November Brussels was placed under a four-day lockdown closing universities, schools and the metro system, amid fears of a Paris-style attack. |
| The presumed ringleader of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was a Belgian national who had travelled to fight in Syria. | |
| Police in Belgium and beyond have been hunting Salah Abdeslam, a French national who was born in Brussels, in connection with the attacks. His brother Brahim blew himself up during the attacks, investigators say. | |
| Belgium has struggled to contain Islamist militancy in recent years - more Belgians have gone to fight for the militant Islamic State (IS) group than any other European country, per capita. |