Belgium raids 14 homes in terrorism investigation, Detains 7 suspects

• Belgian police conducted 14 house searches in a terrorism investigation.
• Seven people were taken into questioning for suspected preparation of a terrorist attack.
• The specific targets of the attack are yet to be determined.

On Thursday, the federal public prosecutor’s office announced that Belgian police conducted 14 house searches in a terrorism investigation and took seven people in for questioning. “They are suspected, among other things, of preparing a terrorist attack. The specific targets of the attack had not yet been determined,” it said in a statement.

A judge will decide later whether to charge the seven people. Police conducted house searches in cities such as Antwerp, Liege, and Ghent, as well as in the Brussels region.

The prosecutor’s office did not immediately comment on whether the plans were linked to the Paris Olympics, which commence on Friday. The Paris anti-terrorism prosecutor did not respond to inquiries about its involvement in the investigation.

The perpetrators of the 2015 Paris attacks, which killed 130 people and wounded 368, largely planned and coordinated the attacks from Belgium. Several of the attackers were Belgian nationals or residents. In 2016, bombings at Brussels airport killed 34 people and injured 340. Among those convicted for the attacks was Salah Abdeslam, who was also the main suspect in the Paris attacks trial.

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