Saturday, 21 November 2015

Isis attack puts Brussels on lockdown



We’re about to end our live coverage of Saturday’s events in Brussels. Here’s a summary of what we know:





Brussels remains on lockdown on Saturday night, with the metro system, shopping centres and public buildings closed. The city’s mayor has ordered all restaurants and cafes to close tonight.







The government raised the terror alert level to level four – “very serious” – for the Brussels region. “Analysis shows a serious and imminent threat that requires taking specific security measures as well as specific recommendations for the public,” an official statement said.
The heightened terror threat is thought to have been sparked by fears that Salah Abdeslam is in hiding in the Brussels area. The 26-year-old French man is believed to be one of the ringleaders of the Paris attacks in which 130 people died last Friday. He has reportedly been in touch with friends on Skype asking for help in getting back to Syria.

Turkish police arrested three terror suspects, including a Belgian of Moroccan origin who is suspected of action as a scout for the cell that launched the Paris attacks.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that Britain must not be “drawn into responses that feed a cycle of violence and hate” following the Paris attacks.

The United Nations Security Council voted to approve a French-backed resolution calling on all member states to do everything possible to eradicate the threat posed by Islamic State jihadis.

David Cameron will visit Paris on Monday to meet with French president François Hollande.


A Belgian man of Moroccan origin has been arrested in Turkey on suspicion that he scouted the target sites for attacks that killed 130 people in Paris a week ago, a Turkish government official said. The official, confirming a report by the Dogan news agency, said two other men were also arrested.

The Belgian, Ahmet Dahmani, was arrested at a luxury hotel in the southern coastal city of Antalya. The 26-year-old had been staying in the resort since Monday, according to the report


The US European Command has issued a 72-hour travel restriction on travel to Brussels by all US military personnel as well as civilian Pentagon employees, contractors and command-sponsored family members and dependents. The command said on its website that “for those already in Brussels, everyone is to shelter in place and remain at home”.

Brussels is home to the overall headquarters of the US-led Nato alliance. Nato’s military headquarters, officially known as Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (Shape) is about 45 miles south


La Marseillaise rang around Premier League grounds this afternoon as football players and fans paid their respects to those killed in the Paris terrorist attacks last Friday.

At Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea were hosting Norwich, a large French flag was unfurled as both sets of players belted out the anthem. And it was similar sight at all seven grounds where Premier League matches were being played today.

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