Restaurant and Bars around the ground place, the iconic historical central square of brussels, are emptier than usual at this time of the year after belgian police monday night broke up a plot to target the square and other crowded spaces in during New york festivities.
Then late wednesday came a news of new raids and an arrest connected to the paris attack in molenbeek, just a 20 minutes walk from the Grand place across a canal. It was another reminder of the terrorist threat faced by this small European country.
Authorities also canceled the New year's Eve fireworks display scheduled to take place near the Grand place because of the ongoing security concerns, which Belgian prime minister charles micheal addressed on belgian television. "believe that we are being confronted with the new stage in the history of europe. The authorities need to do more. We have to defend our way of life, our freedom to go to the cinema, to go to the theatre, to go out. We all have to be mobilized.
For belgium 2015 opened with a deadly commando raid in eastern belgium thwarting an ISIS gun and bomb plot, and the ended with several brussels residents participating in the worst attack in modern french history.
Brussels, the capital, was placed on a maximum alert and virtually shut down or several days in november.
And now, two members of the kamikaze riders , a muslim biker gang are arrested for alledgedly plotting an attack on the Grand place . The two arrested are said souati, the founder of the biker group who had previously being on the radar screen of counter terrorism investigators, and a man known as mohamed karay. the two men are schedule to appear before a belgian magistrate on thursday.
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