Among the suspects arrested on Monday evening by the Federal Police's anti-terror unit, at least five of them were planning on carrying out two terror attacks, according to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office.
After carrying out a wide-scale anti-terror operation, the Federal Police arrested eight individuals who they accuse of being radical jihadists. The Public Prosecutor's Office has now confirmed that five of those arrested were "prepared to carry out (two separate) terror attacks."
While both attacks are said to be unrelated, the Public Prosecutor's Office stated to various news outlets that those involved in the plots had been in constant communication on social media.
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Furthermore, VRT NWS revealed that the only suspect not to be detained in either Antwerp or Brussels, but rather in the German-speaking city of Eupen, had already been arrested by police in 2020.
The detainee, alongside an accomplice, had reportedly planned to carry out a knife attack on police officers, with videos showing them pledging their allegiance to the so-called Islamic State. As they were 16 and 17, they were not put in prison but rather at a youth detention centre.
All eight suspects will now have to wait and see whether they will be put under official arrest, with a decision set to be reached by the investigating judge by Thursday at the latest.
