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Belgium upgrades terror threat level to 3

Xinhua, January 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

Belgium has raised the terrorist threat level to 3 on a scale of 4 following a series of raids on suspected jihadists on Thursday.

The Co-ordinating Body for Threat Analysis Belgium (OCAM), the government body that monitors the threat level to the country reassessed the level of vigilance in the country as a result of these actions.

The increase comes after around a dozen raids were carried out in the capital of Brussels and the eastern town of Verviers on Thursday in which 2 people were killed.

"As part of a record of the federal prosecution, specialised Belgian terrorism units have conducted a total of a dozen raids in the districts of Verviers, Brussels and Halle-Vilvoorde," Eric Van Der Sypt of the federal prosecutors office said.

Raids were carried out on Thursday in Verviers, as well as the Brussels districts of Vilvoorde, Brussels City, Zaventem, Schaerbeek and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean.

An armed man was also arrested on the Brussels underground. According to media reports, witnesses said he was heard to shout "allahu akbar" at the time of his arrest. Another man was arrested at Zaventem Airport. Enditem