Belgian police arrest 16 in anti-terror raids across country
Key suspect in the Paris attacks Salah Abdeslam was still missing, as the manhunt intensified with Brussels in lockdown mode over the weekend.
A total of 22 raids were carried out and 16 people arrested in anti-terror action in Belgium on Sunday. Suspected Paris attacks gunman Salah Abdeslam was not among those arrested, the authorities said, according to the BBC. The French-origin Abdeslam, 26, is believed to have played a key role in the Islamic State attacks in Paris on November 13, which left 130 dead and more than 300 injured. No weapons or explosives were found during the searches on Sunday, Belgian prosecutor Eric van der Sypt said.
At least three of the nine men suspected of carrying out the Paris attacks were based in Brussels. The threat level in Brussels had been raised to the highest possible amid the third day of lockdown in the capital in the hunt for the suspect. Additional troops were deployed to buttress local police efforts, reported The Guardian. All schools in Brussels had been shut as a precaution and the city’s metro suspended over the weekend. Belgian authorities have so far charged three people with involvement in the Paris attacks.