Brussels on high alert as Turkey arrests Belgian-Moroccan ‘Paris attack scout’

Brussels has raised its alert level to the highest degree possible, with people being told to avoid public places, like shopping malls, and anywhere where crowds might assemble.

The threat of an attack is now deemed “serious and imminent”, with the whole of the Brussels metro network closed for the duration of the weekend and music and sporting events cancelled.

Belgium saw its threat level raised to three following the 13 November Paris attacks in which 130 people were killed. Following the attacks, it emerged that two of the suicide bombers involved had been living in Belgium, and that at least part of the Paris massacre was planned in Brussels. Three people have now been detained in Brussels and are facing terrorism charges.

The brother of one of the suicide bombers, who was also living in Brussels, is still on the run. 

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel on Saturday said the decision to raise the terror threat level "was due to a threat of an attack by individuals with explosives and weapons at several locations in the capital," although he failed to name any alleged targets or perpetrators. 

A Belgium-Moroccan national suspected of being a “scout” for the Paris attacks has been arrested in Turkey along with two other men, reportedly from Syria.

Turkish police said the arrests of the alleged members of the Islamic State group were carried out Friday evening in the southern province of Antalya, with police storming a luxury hotel where the alleged scout, identified as 26-year-old Ahmet D, was staying. The other two suspects, only known as Ahmet T, 29, and Muhammed V, 23, were arrested while driving.

The three are due to appear before a court in Manavgat, a resort town to the east of Antalya city.

The UN Security Council Friday adopted a unanimous resolution calling on all member states to join the fight against IS and take “all necessary measures” to fight IS.

“The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant constitutes a global and unprecedented threat to international peace and security,” the resolution said.

The council resolution “calls upon member states that have the capacity to do so to take all necessary measures ... on the territory under the control of Isil,” the resolution said using another acronym for IS.

It further called on all member states to work to stop terrorism financing and to stem the flow of suspected militants going to join groups like IS in the Middle East and Africa. 

The Paris attacks have also further prompted reactions in Europe, where emergency measures were enacted Friday, which will see security checks "immediately" stepped up, tightening checks on points of entry to the 26-country Schengen area.

Cazeneuve said the European Commission would present plans to introduce "obligatory checks at all external borders for all travellers", including EU citizens, by the end of the year plunging the future of the Schengen zone into even further uncertainty. 

Previously, only non-EU nationals had their details checked against a database for terrorism and crime when they enter the Schengen area.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said late Friday he was increasingly irritated that the EU was moving so slowly to secure its borders, adding the Netherlands was ready "to run the whole show" with other countries if necessary.

The European Commission also called for the establishment of an EU-wide intelligence agency in the wake of the Paris massacre.

"We hope that Europe, which has wasted too much time on a number of urgent issues, today takes the decisions that we must take," French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said as he arrived for the talks.