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Troops are being deployed on the streets of Belgium

The move follows anti-terror raids earlier this week.

Belgium Europe Terror Belgian para-commandos patrol near a synagogue in the center of Antwerp. AP Photo / Virginia Mayo AP Photo / Virginia Mayo / Virginia Mayo

BELGIUM IS DEPLOYING hundreds of troops to patrol the streets after security forces smashed a suspected Islamist “terrorist” cell planning to kill police officers.

Up to 300 soldiers will be progressively deployed in the capital Brussels and the northern city of Antwerp, which has a large Jewish population, Prime Minister Charles Michel’s office said in a statement.

“The mobilised troops will be armed and their primary responsibility will be to survey certain sites” and to reinforce police, the statement said.

The soldiers could also eventually be deployed to the industrial eastern city of Verviers, where early yesterday security forces killed two suspected Islamists in a huge raid on an alleged jihadist cell planning to attack police in the country.

Belgium Europe Terror Virginia Mayo Virginia Mayo

The Belgian raid came a week after Islamist attacks in and around Paris killed 17 people, rekindling fears in Europe about the threat posed by young Europeans returning home after fighting alongside extremist groups in the Middle East.

Following the raid in Verviers, Belgian police arrested 13 people during a series of raids across Belgium, five of whom were later charged with “participating in the activities of a terrorist group.”

Belgian prosecutors said there were no immediate links with last week’s Islamist attacks in Paris on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine, a Jewish supermarket and a policewoman, the country’s worst attacks in half a century.

French police separately arrested 12 people early yesterday and questioned them about “possible logistic support” they may have given to the Paris gunmen — Islamist brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi and Amedy Coulibaly, sources said.

© – AFP 2015

Read: Five charged with terrorism after Belgium raids >

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    Mute Anthony Hilton
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    Aug 16th 2021, 3:40 PM

    When will people realise that the government don’t care about the people

    154
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    Mute Larsen Cib
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    Aug 16th 2021, 3:45 PM

    @Anthony Hilton: why not? Leonardo and Martin said thank you didnt they?
    Now you can store a big thank you in your fridge and pay for your transport to work.

    Just let them know that you are paying with the governments ” thank you “

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    Mute Colm OS
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    Aug 16th 2021, 4:52 PM

    Without doubt Healthcare workers deserve recognition and reward but it wasn’t just Healthcare workers who put themselves at risk. All the supermarket, pharmacy and non hse Healthcare staff (as a few examples) all took on risk which they deserve to be rewarded for

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    Mute Niamh Hughes
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    Aug 16th 2021, 11:57 PM

    @Colm OS: Dunnes stores employees got a 10% raise and a 20% discount card for their shopping. I stand to be corrected but I also think Tesco rewarded their employees too. Healthcare workers got a round of applause.

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    Mute John Fagan
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    Aug 16th 2021, 5:10 PM

    The problem with this is that if you give to one in the union, you have to give it to the lot of them. This includes managers who sat at home during the pandemic, administration staff who worked from home and people who just didn’t bother coming in because they didn’t want to catch covid. Plus the fact that every other public servant will want it. Who decides who deserves it?

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    Mute Niall Lee
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    Aug 16th 2021, 5:22 PM

    @John Fagan: every single one of them

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    Mute Garreth mc mahon
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    Aug 16th 2021, 3:51 PM

    These unions need separation from influence of government, if they are unhappy, go to LRC or labour court for each law broken if any. The days of ministers showing up at conventions also need to stop. The unions have never helped to fix the issues and it’s amazing how many pay rises fix the issues in the HSE

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    Mute GrumpyAulFella
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    Aug 16th 2021, 3:40 PM

    The demand doesn’t seem to be very clear. Are the unions looking for compensation for all workers in the health sector, front line workers or what exactly? How many staff are they seeking compensation for? The HSE employees about 70,000 alone, throw in all the voluntary hospitals, care workers…. They must be able to put a number on it.

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    Mute Derek Moean
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    Aug 16th 2021, 4:10 PM

    Leo will give them around of applause…

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    Mute Ian Breathnach
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    Aug 16th 2021, 9:01 PM

    @Derek Moean: he’ll give them a pay rise, then claim he too is a Doctor and take said pay rise himself.

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    Mute Margaret Kane
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    Aug 17th 2021, 12:34 PM

    TDs certainly don’t suffer hardships they’ve no problems robbing the taxpayers money to give themselves big rises

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