Two persons detained in new anti-terror raids in Belgium

“One man was arrested in (the eastern town of) Verviers and another man in Tournai,” close to the French border, a spokesman said.

“It is too soon to talk about a terror attack. The two men have to be questioned first,” he added. Belgium remains on high alert after the March attacks on Brussels airport and on the city’s busy metro system which killed 32 people and were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

Several of those involved in the bloodshed were directly linked to the November attacks in Paris which left 130 dead and were planned in Brussels. They were also claimed by IS.

Last week, Belgium charged three men with “attempted terrorist murder” after massive anti-terror raids linked to a reported threat to fans during a Euro 2016 football game. Prosecutors said at the time that they were responding to a need for “an immediate intervention”.

Belgium police killed two IS jihadis in a raid in Verviers in January 2015 who were later found to be linked to the cells involved in both the Brussels and Paris attacks.