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BELGIAN POLICE ARRESTED two men suspected of plotting a terror attack in the country as Europe remains on edge following a rising wave of jihadist bloodshed.
Police arrested two men, identified as Noureddine H. and his brother Hamza H., after house searches late last night in Belgium’s French-speaking areas of Mons and Liege, federal prosecutors said.
“Both are suspected of planning a terrorist attack somewhere in Belgium,” a spokesman said in an English version of the statement.
The French version referred to “planning attacks” in the plural.
The prosecutor’s office said there was for now no connection with the bombings on 22 March at Brussels airport and a metro station near the EU headquarters that left 32 people dead.
Those attacks were claimed by the jihadist Islamic State group which is waging war in Syria and Iraq.
No weapons or explosives were found in Friday’s raids ordered by a judge specialising in counter-terror cases, it said.
A judge will review the arrests of the brothers later today and decide whether to keep them in custody.
Link to Paris attacks
Several of those involved in the Brussels bloodshed were directly linked to the November 13 bombing and gun attacks in Paris which left 130 dead and were also claimed by the Islamic State.
Belgian authorities last month charged two men with terrorist offences amid reports of a planned attack on a Euro 2016 fanzone in central Brussels.
Belgium then beefed up security for its July 21 national day celebrations after the truck attack that killed 84 people in the French city of Nice on Bastille Day on 14 July.
The authorities in Belgium, which hosts the headquarters of the 28-nation EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, had previously anticipated a possible truck-style attack before the Nice carnage.
Tensions have risen further after a week of attacks in Germany, some claimed by IS, that left 13 people dead, including three assailants, and dozens wounded.
Belgium is the main source per head of population of jihadist recruits going from the European Union to fight with IS in Syria, causing deep concern that they will return home battle-hardened and even more radicalised.
The interior ministry said 457 Belgian men and women have gone or tried to join jihadists in the Middle East, including 90 who are missing or dead.
False alerts
Belgium’s massive security deployment, including armed soldiers on its streets, has also responded to two alerts in the last few weeks in central Brussels that turned out to be false.
One involved an Iranian student studying radiation and another a man with psychiatric problems who was carrying a fake suicide belt full of salt and biscuits.
In less than two weeks in July, IS jihadists claimed four bloody assaults in France and Germany.
Experts say each attack can inspire another, with jihadists egged on further by the media spotlight the atrocities attract.
The attacks come as Europe grapples with long-term economic problems, the Greek debt standoff, the migrant crisis that saw more than a million people stream into Europe in 2015, and Britain’s shock vote to quit the European Union.
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Can someone tell how the massive influx of Muslim migrants into Western countries enhances the stability and the way of life of those countries?
It certainly improves the stability of the countries these migrants come from.
i would, but you wouldn’t listen
Because we can all hold hands and sing songs together under rainbows in our EUtopia. Just don’t let our wives, sisters or daughters out after dark, we should be grand.
We could swap some Third-Level educated refugees for some of our far-right dole scroungers,a cultural exchange of great benefit to us.
Its win-win for the source countries to be sure….millions in remittances from Europe per annum.
It enhances nothing and compromises our security. When fighting a war against a hidden enemy, the last thing you do is invite more of that same hidden enemy into your house. That’s insanity. Imagine if the USA invited millions of Japanese nationals into the USA after Pearl Harbour. European politicians first duty of care and security is to European citizens. Viktor Orban and the other Eastern politicians get that. Sadly Merkal and Hollande do not get this and prefer to grandstand and virtue signal. And that’s why the likes of Le Pen who will do what’s needed, will soon gain power.
It’s not about enhancing our way of life
It’s about accepting refugees in need of humanitarian assistance as outlined in Geneva conventions
Yes ..lets accept refugees.
But lets persuade migrants to apply for entry to Europe.
The Geneca Convention was drafted in the 50s. The world is now a completely different place and the convention is no longer fit for purpose. European nations should cancel it.
I said migrants not refugees..
I’m listening..go ahead!
@Sean…you seem to know lots of them. Of course Islam is a Far-Right extremist ideology so you have plenty to choose from there.
Warthog….it didnt post to/at you..i agreed with you.
Give it a go, I’m all ears.
Shame you gutless clown. There’s a small group of death zealots, nothing to do with Islam…a banner they abuse. ..how about we stand up for Democracy, stand with refugees and immigrants and kill this lunatic fringe quietly. Talk about getting your panties in a bunch Warts! Too much sensational tv for you. FREEDOM EQUALITY FRATERNITY. If you replace the word immigrant from the last 6 months of the red top rags, replace it with the word Jew..then see for yourself what an lunatic you are ya dummy
Hollande is weak. Merkel is weak.
I must and always will try to believe in the goodness and genuine compassion and humanity of people. These immigrants are for the vast majority genuine and loving people. They are welcome in the Ireland and Europe I am proud to be a part of. You know, the one that helps people when they are in need
Hi Peter I was responding to Jester and Tariq…
Team Tariq says:
“We could swap some Third-Level educated refugees for some of our far-right dole scroungers,a cultural exchange of great benefit to us.”
Majority Of Migrants ‘Unemployable’ And Just 54 Have Jobs With Top Firms
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/07/07/major-german-companies-employing/
Leak: 81 Per Cent of Migrants To Germany Are Unskilled, Government Predicts 400,000 New Welfare Claimants
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/10/28/leak-81-per-cent-migrants-germany-unskilled-government-predicts-400000-new-welfare-claimants/
(whisper: but remember these news sources are no good because they come from a source that upset multicultists…wonder why?)
Rather, European member states should not be compelled to take in migrants just because the one ruling the roost is Germany and it says so.
You..do realise that most of them are economic migrants, and not refugees.
That’s lovely Brendan. Western civilization will fall one day because we have too many people like you.
Muslims really are terrorising western society.
Western society has been terrorising muslims for as long as I can remember. Name me one Muslim country that’s invaded a western one?
Profound.
Incorrect Tommy Boy! In the US 74% of terrorist attacks were carried out by FAR-RIGHT Christian lunatics,FACTCHECK http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/opinion/the-other-terror-threat.html?_r=0
@No2 Turkey
In a decade or two people living in mainland European cities withh experience the same levels of stress as the denizens of Beirut and Baghdad.
Life as we know it inexorably changed forever.
European civilization slowly gasping out its final few breaths.
Spain Austria Malta Serbia and France invaded by the Muslim Ottoman Empire
They almost got to Paris
No 2 Muslims are currently invading countries across Europe, from Greece to Italy as they rampage through the continent. That’s what the “migrant crisis” is, a large scale Islamic invasion.
I was under the impression that the more Far-Right Identity Ireland keyboard warriors we have,the safer Europe will be,I read it on Stormfront.org,is it not true?
Nah Tommy these 2 poor lads are mentally unstable. Not responsible for what they do. Its all the West’s fault.
Spain and several other European ones the Muslims were repelled at the gates of Vienna this time they are invading by stealth
THE END IS NIGH
No2
Ottoman empire.
Two wrongs don’t make a right, No 2. The Middle East is a mess, and no one can deny western powers, particularly the US and UK have played an integral role in its demise. If IS was supposed to be a political movement, and not a religious one, then violence and shouting “Allahu Akbar” is not the way to go. Diplomacy and negotiations and the way to hold western powers accountable, not blowing yourself up in the hopes of taking tens of innocent civilians with you.
The Karada homicide bomb of 3 weeks ago…its believed IS used a new form of explosive combination…has a total death count of 293…believed to be the most atrocious suicide/homicide bomb in Iraqs history.
NO2
Muslims invaded all of the Levant, North Africa, Italy, Spain, France, Anatolia and Eastern Europe, they’ve been doing “conquest” since the inception of islam conquering each town in the Arabian peninsula by the sword. Europe is just next in that long koranic doctrinal line.
Watch your comments, terrorists are to be replaced as 1.7 billions are not terrorising west they are peaceful if they were the world would be a hell to live for everyone. Islamophobes and racists are destroying the peace in the society like terrorists
Islamophobes won’t give you any tick as they love defaming Islam due to their own ignorance. Your comments are on the money, no Islamic country invaded west
@Jihad Your so called prophet invaded territories,villages, towns, cities any chance he got, his message was convert or die, pay the jizya etc.. Religion of peace is a lie. No Islamic country invaded the West you say, another lie.. King Jan Sobeiski put and end to your Islamic invasion into Europe did he not? September 11th 1683 to be exact, and was it coincidence that the twin towers in New York fell on the same date? I think not.
Liam, didn’t you used to be a Christian fundamentalist before you became a Muslim one? Why the change, are you slways that indecisive?
What does that say in the middle of your flag Liam? Can you even read Arabic..?
If they want to go to Syria, let them Facilitate them. And at the last European frontier take their passports and never let them back.
Team Tariq. “Official account of European Integration Expert Tariq ibn Ziyad”. Priceless LOL.
I think it should actually read, 2nd account of Liam from wexford.
I think Tariq and Petr have morphed into 1 super intellect…the journals 1st partnership…together they will be invincible, indefatigable, indestructable…like Star Trek’s “The Borg”.
I don’t seem to hear any widespread condemnation from Muslim leaders every time some Islamist nut job decides to scatter himself over the pavement, look at recent attacks in France, was the top man within Ireland on offering his condolences or issuing strong condemnation? No he wasn’t, the silence is deafening.
The western world built the middle East, By burning it’s oil in our cars , Where would they be only for the great Henry Ford.
They want to ban drinking at airports
migrants control the airport authorities? that was some sly takeover
And the constant reporting though hypnotic almost, gives these sick boys the oxygen they crave
Radicals crave meaning and a tribe. The more they are isolated from society the stronger the craving
So don’t educate people on the threat that islamists are? Ignorance is not bliss. Thank God for the world wide web.
Why does the hard left in Europe defend Islam on every occasion from any criticism
Surely Islam can defend itself
you’re not one of these snowflake people im hearing so much about John are you?
Spit it out Jester enough of the cryptic one liners
What do you really think ?
The Syrian war is approaching its end…the rebel gangs coalesced to fight for their foothold in Aleppo and were decisively routed…Turkey is somewhat distracted right now…the US want to team up with Russia to finish it….big changes are afoot.
NO2
“Radicals crave meaning and a tribe. The more they are isolated from society the stronger the craving”
Wonder what radical tribe the Pakistanis who gang-raped 1400 British white girls in Rotherham town, same in Newcastle and 400 in Oxfordshire, belonged to, must have been inspired by Anders Breivik.
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