Nine arrests in Brussels linked to Paris attacks

Belgian police arrested nine people in Brussels on Thursday during raids connected to last week's deadly Paris attacks, prosecutors said.

Seven people were "taken in for further investigation" during six raids linked to French national stadium bomber Bilal Hadfi, the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Hadfi, a 20-year-old French national who had been living in Belgium, reportedly fought for Islamic State in Syria.

The other two arrests were also linked to last Friday's attacks, the prosecutor's statement said.

Many of the raids were in the largely immigrant area of Molenbeek, where suspected Paris attacks ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud and two brothers linked to the attacks, Brahim and Salah Abdeslam, came from.

But there were also raids in the upscale Brussels suburbs of Uccle and Laeken.

Belgian police have carried out a series of raids since the Paris massacre in which 129 people died, with Belgium facing increasing criticism for having failed to stop the attackers.

A major operation targeting Salah Abdeslam in Molenbeek on Monday failed to find the suspect.

Two people were charged with involvement in terrorism on Monday in relation to the Paris attacks.