Brussels terror alert based on fears of 'Paris-style attack'

Belgian PM Charles Michel says Brussels has been
placed on its highest level of terror alert in response
to information about the risk of an attack like the
one in Paris last week.
The fear was that "several individuals with arms
and explosives could launch an attack... perhaps
even in several places", Mr Michel said.
Some of the attackers who killed 130 people in
Paris lived in Brussels.
Leading suspect Salah Abdeslam is believed to have
gone back to Belgium.
He is now the focus of a huge manhunt.
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The Brussels metro is closed till Sunday and people
have been told to avoid crowds.
These include shopping centres and concerts, and
the authorities have also recommended that large
events, including football matches, be cancelled, a
statement said.
The warning for the rest of Belgium stays at a lower
level, which is still at a "serious" level.
The Belgian government will review the security
situation in Brussels on Sunday afternoon, Mr
Michel added.
At the scene: James Reynolds, BBC News, Brussels
"We are closed, exceptional circumstances" says a
sign posted in a shop inside Brussels' Gare du Midi
train station. "Be safe."
Armed police officers patrol the station's main
concourse. One squad check passengers' bags.
Two officers escort away a drunk man who has
come in search of cigarettes.
At 12:08, the Eurostar from London arrives. At the
gate, a young woman is embraced by her mother
who smiles and says she will take her daughter
home as quickly as possible in order to stay safe.
Passengers also include a group of British men on a
stag weekend. They say they did not want to cancel
their plans. They head boisterously out into the city.
Along one of the city's main shopping streets,
shops are open. Rows of security guards stand at
the front doors.
I write these words from a table in a half empty
fast-food restaurant. Two well armed soldiers in
camouflage uniform are standing a metre away
from me just inside the front door.
Belgian game off amid security fears
Belgium's jihadist networks
Interior Minister Jan Jambon earlier told reporters
the country's situation was "serious", but "under
control", as he arrived for a special security cabinet
meeting on Saturday.
A Belgian man of Moroccan descent, Ahmad
Dahmani, 26, has been arrested at a luxury hotel in
Antalya along with two other terror suspects,
Turkish authorities have told the BBC.
He is believed to have been in contact with the
suspects who perpetrated the Paris attacks, an
official said.
He arrived from Amsterdam on 14 November; there
is no record of the Belgian authorities having
warned Turkey about him, which is why there was
no entry ban, the official said.
The Belgian authorities have so far charged three
people with involvement in the attacks, claimed by
Islamic State militants.
In Paris, French police have freed seven people
arrested during the massive raid on an apartment
housing the suspected ringleader, Abdelhamid
Abaaoud, prosecutors said according to AFP news
agency.
Abdelhamid Abaaoud was killed in the raid in the
Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.
However, Jawad Bendaoud - who has admitted
lending the apartment to two people from Belgium
"as a favour", but denied knowing any more - is
being held in custody.
More on the Paris attacks
Bataclan hostage's ordeal
Katya Adler: What Paris means for Europe
Claire, Elodie, Francois: The victims of the
attacks
Europe ponders security challenge
Paris attacks: The unanswered questions
Special report: In-depth coverage of the attacks
and their aftermath
Earlier, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution
to "redouble" action against Islamic State following
last week's deadly attacks in the French capital.
The French-drafted document urges UN members
to "take all necessary measures" in the fight
against IS, which said it carried out the attacks.
France is still hunting Salah Abdeslam, who hired
one of the cars used in the attacks.
French media have reported that nine militants
carried out the attacks, and seven died on Friday
night. So it is possible that another attacker - as
well as Salah Abdeslam - is still at large.
Investigators suspect the gunmen used safe
houses in Saint-Denis, Bobigny and Alfortville in the
Paris region.
But it is not clear when the group met up to launch
the attacks. Other elements of the plot also remain
unclear.
Investigators will be studying phone records and
assessing the weapons seized for further clues.
Hundreds of people were wounded in the near-
simultaneous attacks on Paris bars and
restaurants, a concert hall and sports stadium.
The attacks were the worst in Europe since the
2004 Madrid bombings.
What is Islamic State?
IS is a notoriously violent Islamist group which
controls large parts of Syria and Iraq. It has
declared its territory a caliphate - a state governed
in accordance with Islamic law - under its leader
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
What does it want?
IS demands allegiance from all Muslims, rejects
national borders and seeks to expand its territory. It
follows its own extreme version of Sunni Islam and
regards non-believers as deserving of death.
How strong is IS?
IS projects a powerful image, partly through
propaganda and sheer brutality, and is the world's
richest insurgent group. It has about 30,000 fighters
but is facing daily bombing by a US-led multi-
national coalition, which has vowed to d