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Belgium Deploys Troops After Foiling Possible Plot Belgium Deploys Troops After Foiling Possible Plot
(32 minutes later)
BRUSSELS — Tightening security around Jewish sites, embassies and other potential terrorist targets, Belgium deployed scores of heavily armed paratroopers on Saturday in Brussels, the capital, and in the port city of Antwerp, a diamond-trading center with a large Orthodox Jewish population.BRUSSELS — Tightening security around Jewish sites, embassies and other potential terrorist targets, Belgium deployed scores of heavily armed paratroopers on Saturday in Brussels, the capital, and in the port city of Antwerp, a diamond-trading center with a large Orthodox Jewish population.
It was the first time Belgian troops had been mobilized on the streets in more than two decades. The measures followed a police raid in the east of the country on Thursday that killed two men suspected of planning what officials said was an imminent and substantial terrorist attack.It was the first time Belgian troops had been mobilized on the streets in more than two decades. The measures followed a police raid in the east of the country on Thursday that killed two men suspected of planning what officials said was an imminent and substantial terrorist attack.
The foiled plot added to fears across Europe that jihadists, particularly Europeans who have returned home after fighting in Syria or Iraq alongside the Islamic State and other extremist groups, are planning attacks similar to, or inspired by, the recent rampage carried out in France by three Muslim extremists.The foiled plot added to fears across Europe that jihadists, particularly Europeans who have returned home after fighting in Syria or Iraq alongside the Islamic State and other extremist groups, are planning attacks similar to, or inspired by, the recent rampage carried out in France by three Muslim extremists.
But Belgian officials say they have so far found no link between the attack they say was being planned from a militant hide-out in the eastern town of Verviers and the Paris attacks on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, a police patrol and a kosher supermarket.But Belgian officials say they have so far found no link between the attack they say was being planned from a militant hide-out in the eastern town of Verviers and the Paris attacks on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, a police patrol and a kosher supermarket.
At the American Embassy in Brussels, two Belgian soldiers from the Third Parachute Battalion, based in the southeastern town of Bastogne, said they had arrived Saturday as part of a security operation coordinated with the police. Troops also stood guard outside the Jewish Museum here, the scene of an attack in May by a French jihadist who had returned from Syria.At the American Embassy in Brussels, two Belgian soldiers from the Third Parachute Battalion, based in the southeastern town of Bastogne, said they had arrived Saturday as part of a security operation coordinated with the police. Troops also stood guard outside the Jewish Museum here, the scene of an attack in May by a French jihadist who had returned from Syria.
But the troops were barely visible in much of the city, which is home to the headquarters of both the European Union and NATO. The Belgian news media quoted Defense Minister Steven Vandeput as saying that the initial deployment involved only 150 soldiers, and that the number would rise to 300 in the coming days if necessary.But the troops were barely visible in much of the city, which is home to the headquarters of both the European Union and NATO. The Belgian news media quoted Defense Minister Steven Vandeput as saying that the initial deployment involved only 150 soldiers, and that the number would rise to 300 in the coming days if necessary.
The government, led by Prime Minister Charles Michel, made the decision to mobilize troops at a meeting of ministers and security officials on Friday evening after Belgium elevated its terrorism alert to three from two, on a scale of one to four. The level was raised on Thursday after the police raided what they believed was a jihadist cell in Verviers, killing two suspects in a gunfight and finding weapons, police uniforms and walkie-talkies.The government, led by Prime Minister Charles Michel, made the decision to mobilize troops at a meeting of ministers and security officials on Friday evening after Belgium elevated its terrorism alert to three from two, on a scale of one to four. The level was raised on Thursday after the police raided what they believed was a jihadist cell in Verviers, killing two suspects in a gunfight and finding weapons, police uniforms and walkie-talkies.
A third man who was in the building at the time was arrested and, according to Belgian news outlets, denied any involvement, saying he had gone to the suspected terrorist hideaway simply to smoke marijuana with friends.A third man who was in the building at the time was arrested and, according to Belgian news outlets, denied any involvement, saying he had gone to the suspected terrorist hideaway simply to smoke marijuana with friends.
The police have since rounded up more than a dozen other people in Brussels and elsewhere, including several returnees from Syria, as part of what Eric Van der Sypt of the federal prosecutor’s office said was a major police operation to head off “plans to assassinate policemen in the street” or at a police station.The police have since rounded up more than a dozen other people in Brussels and elsewhere, including several returnees from Syria, as part of what Eric Van der Sypt of the federal prosecutor’s office said was a major police operation to head off “plans to assassinate policemen in the street” or at a police station.
A Belgian newspaper, Derniere Heure, reported on Saturday that investigators had identified the possible mastermind of the plot disrupted Thursday as Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a 27-year-old Belgian of Moroccan descent from the Molenbeek district, where the police have raided a number of homes and made at least nine arrests in recent days. The newspaper said Mr. Abaaoud, also known as Abou Omar Soussi, was not believed to be in Belgium but in Greece or Turkey. He is well known to authorities after the release early last year by Islamic State militants in Syria of a video that showed him in a pickup truck dragging four corpses.
A spokesman for the Greek police said an investigation was underway after Belgian authorities provided details of suspects purportedly linked to an Islamic cell in Belgium. “We can’t say anything about any arrests at the moment,” the official said, responding to media reports that four people had been detained in Greece. “An investigation is underway following information supplied by the Belgian authorities over the past 48 hours.” He said there would be an announcement “when we have concrete results,” he said.
Belgium has become a major recruiting ground for jihadists in Syria and Iraq. Relative to its population, it has had more fighters than any other European country travel to the Middle East, possibly as many as 450. That is fewer than half the number of French citizens who have traveled to fight, but Belgium has only 11 million people, compared with France’s 66 million.Belgium has become a major recruiting ground for jihadists in Syria and Iraq. Relative to its population, it has had more fighters than any other European country travel to the Middle East, possibly as many as 450. That is fewer than half the number of French citizens who have traveled to fight, but Belgium has only 11 million people, compared with France’s 66 million.