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Belgian police conduct raids in connection with suspected Chechen extremist

Xinhua, June 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Belgian authorities carried out 21 simultaneous searches across different cities on Monday as part of an operation against a suspected Chechen extremist, according to a press statement by the office of Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.

The antiterrorism operations took place in Bredene, Leuven and Ostend, according to federal prosecutors.

In total 16 people were arrested, Le Soir reported on Monday.

During searches in Leuven, details of plans for a terrorist attack in Belgium were found, the newspaper reported.

The police operations have once again demonstrated "the full mobilization and full determination" of the Belgian authorities to "tirelessly" fight terrorism, Charles Michel said.

The prime minister stressed the government's commitment to investing in security. More recently, during the last budget in March 2015, the Belgian government mobilized an additional allocation of 200 million euros (224 million U.S. dollars) for the purpose of security. Endit