The seven people arrested in Flanders on Thursday on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack have been placed under arrest warrants.
They will appear before the council chamber within five days to determine whether or not to extend their custody, the federal prosecution service confirms.
The suspects had not yet set a precise target for their attack and were still discussing different scenarios, but were actively looking for weapons.
Most of the suspects arrested are Chechens. Three of them have Belgian nationality. They belong to a group of strong supporters of the Islamic State.
The potential charges are attempted terrorist murder, participation in the activities of a terrorist group and preparation of a terrorist attack.
The seven suspects were arrested during searches in Roeselare, Menin Ostend, Wevelgem and Ghent.
Commenting on the arrests, Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne told VRT news that Belgium's security and intelligence services now have more resources to intervene on time.
The overall threat level in Belgium is maintained at level 2 on a scale of 4, which means that the threat is considered to be medium, says OCAM (Belgium's Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis).
