This article is from the source 'rtcom' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.rt.com/news/373704-brussels-police-raid-antiterror/
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Brussels police conduct ‘anti-terror’ raids in Molenbeek – prosecutor | Brussels police conduct ‘anti-terror’ raids in Molenbeek – prosecutor |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Police forces have been deployed to the Molenbeek district of the Belgian capital, Brussels, where an anti-terrorist operation is under way, Belgian media report, citing the Public Prosecutor’s Office. | Police forces have been deployed to the Molenbeek district of the Belgian capital, Brussels, where an anti-terrorist operation is under way, Belgian media report, citing the Public Prosecutor’s Office. |
| The operation, which reportedly involves police anti-terror units, is being conducted at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office, according to media reports. The police have already raided and searched several houses in the area, while some streets in Molebeek were cordoned off. | The operation, which reportedly involves police anti-terror units, is being conducted at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office, according to media reports. The police have already raided and searched several houses in the area, while some streets in Molebeek were cordoned off. |
| "These are searches carried out within the framework of a judicial file managed by the Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office," the spokesman of the federal police told local RTL info. | "These are searches carried out within the framework of a judicial file managed by the Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office," the spokesman of the federal police told local RTL info. |
| The Brussels Prosecutor's Office said it was a terrorism-related case. Several people were reportedly detained, according to RTL info. | The Brussels Prosecutor's Office said it was a terrorism-related case. Several people were reportedly detained, according to RTL info. |
| Police Special Forces units, equipped with armored vehicles, are assisting officers in the area, Belgium’s HLN news reports. A helicopter has also been deployed to the scene. | Police Special Forces units, equipped with armored vehicles, are assisting officers in the area, Belgium’s HLN news reports. A helicopter has also been deployed to the scene. |
| The Molenbeek district has a reputation of being a terrorist hub and became associated with extremism following the November 2015 Paris attacks. Three terrorists involved in those attacks had grown up and lived in the district. | |
| Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving terrorist suspect behind the Paris attacks, who played a “central role” in organizing the Paris attacks in November, according to prosecutors, was detained in spring 2016 in Molenbeek not far from the area of the Friday operation, following an armed siege. | |
| The district, which is home to mostly ethnic and religious minorities, has been at the heart of terrorist plots going back to the 1990s, and is also considered an international illegal arms trading hub. It has also, proportionately, provided more Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) fighters than any other place in Europe. |