Belgian police arrested a total of eight people Monday evening around the country, with at least 5 of the detainees suspected of preparing a terrorist attack in Belgium.
The arrests were the result of two investigations, according to a statement from the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, local media reported.
“There are links between the two cases, but further investigation will need to reveal the extent to which the two cases were intertwined,” the statement reads.
The searches of the first investigation, which saw Antwerp police arrest five people for questioning, took place around the country in Merksem, Borgerhout, Deurne, Molenbeek and Eupen. At least two people are suspected of preparing a terrorist attack on Belgian territory.
In a separate investigation, three people were arrested across Zaventem and the Brussels municipalities of Molenbeek and Schaerbeek. All three are suspected of preparing a terrorist attack.
The target of the attack is not known and no further information about the results of the searches will be shared for now, according to the prosecutor.
The OCAD, the government body that monitors the terrorist threat in Belgium, says the overall threat level remains at two (out of four levels), adding that authorities have “everything well under control at the moment,” but that the situation is being monitored closely.