National anti-terrorism operation leads to seven arrests

A nationwide anti-terrorism police operation involved 14 house searches across the country on Thursday and resulted in seven arrests, according to the federal public prosecutor's office.

Searches were carried out in Antwerp, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Seraing, Menen, Leopoldsburg, Liège, Kortrijk, Gent and Zonhoven.

Those detained are suspected of involvement in a terrorist group, financing terrorism or preparing an attack. Several of the suspects are from Central Asia, where the Islamic State has a foothold via its branch Islamic State in Khorasan.

No specific targets of terrorism are known so far and the prosecutor's office cannot give further details at the moment because of the ongoing investigation.

Similar operations took place elsewhere in Europe: seven people were arrested in France and two in Germany.

The German public prosecutor's office said these arrests are also linked to the financing of terrorism via social networks, with sums allegedly sent to the Islamic State.

Since the October terrorist attack on Swedish football fans in Brussels, the general threat level in Belgium has been set at level three (serious) on a scale of four.

This level will not be lowered before the end of the summer, authorities said, due to several factors, including the Olympics taking place in Paris.