Brussels Faces Week On Lockdown as Hunt for Terror Cell Intensifies

A police officer and soldiers on security duty inside the
Galerie de la Reine in Brussels on Sunday.

THE GUARDIAN: Belgian officials say they are looking for at least two individuals, including one man suspected of playing role in Paris attacks last week

Europe’s unofficial capital faces an unprecedented security lockdown this week after Belgian authorities imposed a slew of safety-first measures to prevent a “serious and imminent” terrorist attack.

Charles Michel, the Belgian prime minister, said schools and universities would be shut on Monday while the Metro in the city, which had been expected to partially open after being suspended over the weekend, will not run.

Belgian counter-terrorist agencies are continuing their search for a network of Islamic militants as soldiers patrol the streets with armoured vehicles outside main stations and in public spaces.

“We still fear attacks here like those that occurred in Paris, involving several individuals striking simultaneously in several places,” Michel told a tense press conference, adding that there were “indications” that transport systems, commercial centres, shopping streets and busy places were targets.

Local media described the measures, particularly the closure of schools, as unprecedented and historic, and predicted mass disruption. It remained unclear how the lockdown would affect Europe’s political executive, the European commission. » | Jason Burke in Brussels | Sunday, November 22, 2015