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Belgian police arrest 16 in anti-terror raids

Image source, Police handout

Several Belgian media outlets are carrying reports that Salah Abdeslam, the suspected Paris gunman on the run from police, was spotted by police in Liege on Sunday but escaped in a black BMW.

The reports said Abdeslam headed in the direction of Germany on the E40 motorway and managed to avoid a police checkpoint.

Belgian authorities have not confirmed the reports, saying only that the fugitive was not among those arrested on Sunday and remains at large.

But if Abdeslam did escape police in Liege, it will be the second time he has slipped the net. He and two others were stopped at a French roadblock on the morning after the attacks, near the Belgian border, but were allowed to proceed by officers unaware of Abdeslam's alleged involvement in the attacks.

Belgian prosecutor Eric Van Der Sypt thanked social media users for heeding a police request not to share information about ongoing anti-terror operations, to avoid tipping off suspects.

When police issued the request on Sunday, social media users responded in style by tweeting thousands of cat pictures instead, flooding the #BrusselsLockdown hashtag.

Speaking at a press conference earlier, Mr Van Der Sypt said police "want to thank the press and social media users because they took the need of this operation into account".

Buzzfeed has compiled some of the best of the cat tweets here, external.

Special forces at work on Sunday in the Molenbeek district of Brussels, where the Paris attacks are thought to have been planned.

Image source, Reuters

Eric van der Sypt, of the Belgian Prosecutor's Office, said it was not immediately clear if the person injured in a car which drove at police in Sint Jans Molenbeek was linked to the Paris attacks.

Police fired at the car during the incident, and it was eventually stopped in the centre of Brussels.

• Belgian police carred out 22 anti-terror raids - 19 raids in the Brussels area and three more in Charleroi
• 16 people were arrested - none were named by police
• Salah Abdeslam, suspected Paris assailant, remains at large - unconfirmed Belgian media reports said he was spotted by police in Liege but managed to escape in a BMW
• No weapons or explosives were found during the raids
• Police fired two shots at a car that approached a roadblock during an operation in the Molenbeek district of Brussels - the wounded driver was later arrested
• Brussels remains on the highest state of alert
• A judge will decide tomorrow whether those arrested will be kept in custody.

Belgium's federal state prosecutor, Frederic Van Leeuw, says the investigating judge will decide on Monday about the possible further detention of those arrested this evening.

Belgium's federal state prosecutor, Eric Van Der Sypt, told the news conference that two shots were fired when a vehicle ran into police who were searching a snack bar in Sint Jans Molenbeek.

No weapons or explosives were found during the searches in Brussels and Charleroi on Sunday, Mr Van der Sypt said.

Belgian police made 16 arrests in anti-terror raids on Sunday but top fugitive Salah Abdeslam remains at large, Belgian federal magistrate Erik has just confirmed in a press conference.

Nineteen searches were carried out in the Brussels region and three others in Charleroi, Mr Van der Sypt said. Two shots were fired during an operation in Molenbeek.

The press pack waiting for the Belgian prosecutor.

Journalist have gathered in Brussels, where it it is now past midnight, for a news conference to be given by the Belgian federal prosecutor.

Police with a detainee this evening in Brussels.

Image source, Reuters

According to one Belgian paper, police may have spotted top fugitive Salah Abdeslam in a BMW near the Belgian town of Liege, driving in the direction of Germany, but failed to stop him. "If it was indeed Salah", La Libre adds.

Six anti-terror arrests were made this evening in central Brussels, Belgian newspapers report, quoting unofficial sources. One of those detained on Rue du Midi, close to the Grand Place, was injured.    

The city's maximum state of alert has been extended amid a continuing terror alert connected to the deadly Paris attacks of 13 November. Prime Minister Charles Michel said schools, universities and the capital's metro would remain closed on Monday. 

The threat level remains high in the rest of Belgium. Mr Michel said police and army units would be further strengthened in Brussels. The maximum alert was introduced on Saturday, leading to the closure of many shops, cafes, and public buildings. 

Image source, AP

Brussels police will give details of their operations in the city later this evening, local media report.

Searches being conducted in Brussels are over - AFP news agency, quoting unnamed source close to the Belgian authorities.

Brussels is the seat of both the European Commission and Nato, of course. Both say they will be open for business on Monday.    

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller says there will be tight security at the Davis Cup tennis match between Belgium and the UK, to be played in Ghent on 27-29 November.